Ripple Effect
by The Ethereal Lord
Summary: When Andrew Joshua Talon spitefully threw away every last Hogwarts book in his home, wishing that he had never been involved in the world of magic, he would never know just how far four of those books would travel and just how much the world would change because of it…
1. Prologue

Title: Ripple Effect

You'd be surprised just how far a single act in the throes of hate can go to change a person's life. A single, spitefully spoken word could bring a person to the depths of despair, a single action could spawn a lifelong vendetta, a single thought could bring down an empire.

When Andrew Joshua Talon spitefully threw away every last Hogwarts book in his home, wishing that he had never been involved in the world of magic, he would never know just how far four of those books would travel and just how much the world would change because of it…

[Picture Emily Rose (Haven; SyFy) when you think of Jessica.]

Prologue- Jess

A Year and a Half Prior To Canon Start

"Alright class, that's all for today." Jessica smiled as she watched her pupils happily jump out of their seats, grabbing their bags as they dashed out of the class. "Don't forget to study; we might be having a pop quiz sometime this week."

Then, her eyes narrowed as they fell upon the thin, malnourished form of one of her pupils, the only one to not rush out the door. "Marianne? Please call Dudley in for me. Tell him it won't be for long and that he isn't in any trouble. Potter, you stay where you are."

The boy, shaggy black hair falling over his forehead and into his nearly glowing eyes, sighed and trudged back to his seat. He'd just shuffled back into his seat when the –ahem- slightly overweight form of Dudley Dursley waddled into the class. "Yes, Miss Drew?"

"Tell your parents, Dudley, that I'll be by later with Mr. Potter." She smiled at the boy. "He failed to submit his assignment yesterday and his grades are slipping, not that they were ever good before but I'd like to continue with the class average I've had for the past three years and I won't have him ruining that for me."

The boy frowned in consternation, trying to understand what she meant, before abruptly perking up. "He's in trouble again, isn't he?"

Jessica smiled indulgently. "Yes, Dudley, he is. Just tell your mum that and that I'll be by later to drop him off, okay?"

The overweight child grinned, nodding to show that he understood, before turning to the other child in the room and pulling a face. "Nye-hah, you're in trouble again, freaky freak!" He taunted in what could only be described as a stage whisper before tearing out of the classroom like the hounds of heel were on his heels.

The class was quiet with the boy's departure save for the sounds of Jessica's movements as she walked up to the boy's desk, pulled a chair from the desk beside his and turned it to face the boy before sitting in it.

Then, the staring began; Jessica setting her hands on the boy's table and staring into his bright green eyes while he sat straight in his chair and stared right back into her hazel eyes.

Someone had to break.

It started with a slight, almost spasm-like movement of the shoulders, a gasp of air accompanying it, followed by a firming up of lips then more spasms and tightening of stomachs, then the firm lips shifting into tiny grins that grew by the second until…

Teacher and student exploded into peals of laughter, unable to contain their mirth any longer.

"I just don't get tired of it!" Jessica snorted between guffaws. "He looks like a ball, is shaped like a ball and waddles like the ball of blubber that he is!"

"You think that's funny?" Harry gasped as tears pooled in the corners of his eyes. "You should have seen the face he made; he looked like a bulldog mixed with a walrus and an unhealthy helping of orangutan!"

"And his voice!" They chorused before dissolving into teary puddles of mirth.

This was Jessica Drew: finished from a respectable university over in the States at 22, came to live with her aunt in London the same year, found a job as a teaching assistant at Amanda Privet's school the following year (it helped that her aunt knew the last living Privet quite well), became a full teacher the year after and now, at 26, she was the closest thing one Harry James Potter had to a mother, an aunt and a cool big sister figure all rolled up into one impressive figure.

"So- oh God that was a good laugh- what would you like to have?" She asked between breaths as they finally wound down with the laughter. "I've got mac-and-cheese and two BLTs."

She'd taken an interest in the sad looking malnourished boy that seemed to always bury himself in books he'd borrow from the library when she'd been moved by Mrs. Privet to take the fifth grade. She had come to understand that Harry, a fourth grader back then, was a lonely, abused child that sought friendship but was too damned scared to try. The first time she'd held him back in school, he had seemed terrified of her. It had felt like a lance of ice stabbing right through her gut when she saw the obvious fear in his eyes. She'd had to take things slowly, especially since he wasn't in her class but things had gradually gotten better. Now, as the fifth grade gradually drew to an end, she believed that he saw her as an older sister figure because she definitely saw him as a younger brother.

"I'll have the BLT please." He grinned at her. "If you made the mac-and-cheese, and I suspect you did, then the BLT's the only safe choice."

"Why you little runt!" She growled playfully as she reached across the table to muss his already shaggy hair. "I should starve you for that one!"

A few months back, that last comment would have had him throwing up his defensive walls and retreating into himself. Now, he just laughed at her and ran to get her lunch bag from the table.

"So, how're your eyes?" She asked a few minutes later between bites of her lunch. Even if it was only to herself, she had to admit that the BLTs were likely a better choice than the cooked meal. 'Less to screw up, I'd guess.' She was utter shit at making anything that required more than a few minutes at the stove.

"They still hurt." Harry replied between bites of the first sandwich. He'd caught her slight grimace when she bit into the mac-and-cheese and had decided that he'd join in the agony. Oh, the things he did for love! At least she'd suffer a bit before he did so. "I guess it's my fault for reading by the light of Dudley's old toys."

"Ya guess?" She jibed playfully. "Honestly, Harry, I'm almost tempted not to show you what I've got in store for you today!" 'And, hopefully, it'll be a lot smaller compared to what I plan on giving you later this year.'

"What?!" He seemed almost stricken upon hearing her words. "Come on, Jess! You promised!"

"I know I did but I can't keep encouraging such a dangerous habit!" 'Okay', she decided as she pushed the bowl away from herself, 'no more forays into cooking! This shit is vile!'

"Aw, come on Jess!" Harry stopped eating and focused completely into projecting his pleas into his eyes as he stared at her. He even added a whine to his voice for good measure. "Plea~se?"

"Okay, okay!" She caved in almost immediately "Finish up with that and we can go."

If he hadn't already made up his mind, then her words certainly galvanized his decision. Stuffing the last portion of the sandwich into his mouth, he slid the case over to her and nearly choked trying to convey his words.

"Jesus Christ, Harry! Calm down!" She exclaimed as she quickly made it over to his side and rubbed his back. "Thanks for the offer Harry but do try not to kill yourself!"

As he calmed down and got his breath back, Jessica polished off the proffered sandwich, thanked him again and led him to the library, explaining a few things to him as they moved.

"… I'm to deal with the newest batch of books and since I had the weekend off, I decided to sort them out over the weekend." She finished as they walked into the library. It wasn't a particularly large room but it was well arranged, the books all neatly arranged by various themes on different shelves save for a pile on a table in the corner that she led them toward. "When I saw these, though, I felt like you'd like to go through them before I lump them in with the rest of this lot."

Harry's eyes were practically shining as he rushed over to go through the stack. "Last of the Mohicans? Pride and Prejudice? The Swiss Family Robinson?! Oh Jess you are the absolute best!"

"And don't you forget it!" She replied smugly. Inside, though, she was just happy to see the boy so excited. "And that's not all. Apparently, whoever owned this stack was a bit of a magic nut too. Check these four."

Instantly, he was by her side, almost like he's teleported (sure, and dragons existed and had weird names like Hungarian Horn-Tail or Chinese Fireball) there. "Lemme see, lemme see!"

"Calm down there bub!" She laughed as she fished the quartet of books out of the stack. "Well, here they are: Transfiguration 101; Ancient Runes for Modern Youths; Charms: the Absolute Basics and Fact or Fantasy: the Magical World's Reality. What do you think?"

And, though neither she nor Mr. Talon, wherever he was, realized it, that very moment when Harry James Potter stood in the library, running his hands over the books, was the moment things changed…


	2. Guardian

**Title: Ripple Effect**

You'd be surprised just how far a single act in the throes of hate can go to change a person's life. A single, spitefully spoken word could bring a person to the depths of despair, a single action could spawn a lifelong vendetta, a single thought could bring down an empire.

When Andrew Joshua Talon spitefully threw away every last Hogwarts book in his home, wishing that he had never been involved in the world of magic, he would never know just how far four of those books would travel and just how much the world would change because of it…

[Picture Emily Rose (Haven; SyFy) when you think of Jessica.]

 **Chapter 1- Guardian**

Journal Entry #13

 _Today was, without a doubt, the best day ever._ _At least, judging by what Jess said, it would be until tomorrow._ _If anyone, even an angel, had told me that, someday in the not too distant future, I'd be living the kind of life I'd only ever hoped to dream of, then I'd have laughed and thanked them for the opportunity to at least have a laugh._ _Now, I'm lying down in my own bed (my very own ACTUAL foam and what-not bed; with pillows!), writing about the absolute blast today has been._ _Crazy right?_ _It started off with Jess practically dragging me out of bed and into the second-best hug I've ever gotten in my life, wishing me a happy birthday in advance and babbling so happily that I thought she was going off her rocker! I mean, my birthday's tomorrow, not today!_ _Apparently (and it's really not a huge surprise; Jess is so wickedly good with numbers that I'd be worried if she ever forgot my birthday!), she knows that it's tomorrow but she wanted to make it special for me; being my first birthday celebration with her (my first birthday celebration ever, though I don't plan on outright telling her that), she decided to make it a two day celebration! Today was for heading out and having a good time and boy, did I ever!_ _First off, after an already HUGE breakfast, Jess took me to this AMAZING ice cream parlor where they had pretty much EVERY FLAVOUR UNDER THE SUN! AND CAKES TOO!_ _Yes, I capitalized those words. You would too if you had been there._ _Anyway, Jess basically told me to go wild, within limits of course, (wouldn't want to mess the rest of the day up cause I couldn't move now would I?) and boy did I ever! I got a little bit of everything except some flavors that Jess and the attendant said I couldn't get because I was too young. Not like I was bothered anyway. I mean, I got to have Black Forest cake dipped in pistachio and strawberry ice cream, velvet cake in chocolate and blueberry ice cream and… you get the point._ _Then, she took me to the theatre to see a movie! If magic turns out to be something I can't do then I'm going to be an agent! The name's Potter. James, Potter._ _And then, we went to the zoo!_ _Doesn't seem like much eh? I know. Well, let me put it simply because-- Whoops! Getting sleepy here! So where was I?_ _Ah! Okay, so we got to the zoo, bought tickets to go in and we basically explored every animal on display. Jess, being the innate teacher that she is, turned it into a lesson yet I couldn't help but have fun the whole way._ _At least until we got to the snake exhibit._ _At that point, Jess said she was thirsty and wanted to pee so she told me to stand by the display case of a boa constrictor. Now, I'm not sure if it was due to the time of the day or something but the snake house was practically devoid of anyone. So, I just stood there watching the snake lunge on a rock when, all of a sudden, its tongue flicked out in what I supposed was a hiss._ _I say supposed because, instead of a sibilant hiss, I heard words! Actual, English WORDS! It was tired of being stared at and hidden behind the glass and honestly wanted to go out and hunt! Get this; the snake felt it was getting FAT! I laughed loudly and it must have heard me because it turned toward me, flicked its tongue out and called me an annoying, tittering ape! I laughed again and then, faster than I can recall, even now, we were talking! It kept telling me that I was this important 'scarred one' and that even the shamans of Africa had heard of my exploits. I didn't get that but it didn't say it like it particularly mattered so we moved on to other stuff. Like how it wanted to hunt and was tired of feeling cooped up. Well, I couldn't do much for it and I was going to say so when I was rammed away._ _Lord Dudderkins, Greatest Knight in the order of the Blubber, had arrived. Honestly, I don't think he cared if it was me because he was much too busy pounding on the glass partition and the constrictor clearly didn't like it._ _I'm not quite sure where the idea came from but, Jess, if you ever read this then I blame you. I mean, I was a perfectly normal guy until you felt it would be a great idea to teach me 'the most distinguished art of Pranks'._ _Anyhow, I basically sat there on the ground, wondering how hilarious it would be if the snake got loose and Dudley was on display and -soundlessly- the partition simply disappeared! Or, to use the Fact or Fantasy term, it vanished._ _Of course lord Dudderkins had been pressed up against the glass so firmly his face should have left an indent so when it vanished, well, I believe Jess would call it laws of momentum or something. Maybe inertia? Anyways, Dudley simply fell into the display, taking a nice, cool soak in the snake's pool. In the mean time, the snake simply ambled –do snakes amble? - its way out of the display like it had been waiting for precisely that to happen. Then, it turned to me, hissed a polite 'thanks' and kept on moving. And, icing on the bloody cake, the glass partition reappeared in the exact same spot it was in._ _Well, I wasn't bloody well going to stand there and let someone –ahem Dudley- have the chance to pin it on me so I zipped out of the exhibit in no time flat._ _And then, the third awesome thing happened (have we been counting? I feel like I should but I'm too tired to make any revisions) that pretty much knocked me off my feet._ _I. Met. Her._ _Now, to be honest, I don't know her name or anything but I sure as hell am not going to forget her any way._ _Not when she's the second smartest person I've ever met._ _(in hindsight, though I certainly am not old enough to think that way yet, but if I do end up falling for the smart, kind and beautiful types, then the fault lies with Jess and Mystery Zoo Girl.)_ _I mean, she had a larger vocabulary than me, knew more about the animals that we ended up seeing (again) than I knew when I first came in, hell she even knew a few things that Jess hadn't told me (because I'm pretty sure that Jess knew those stuff; she just didn't want to give me an information overload on what was supposed to be a fun day)._ _We must have spent an extra hour going around the zoo all over again until we found Jess and mystery girl's parents looking about worriedly._ _I'm pretty sure Jess is waiting till the day after tomorrow to get me for that little stunt._ _Oh well, I'm pretty sure I'll survive._

Jessica smiled as she watched Harry tear into the stack of pancakes that she made for him, his face glowing, eyes shining behind his great big glasses and his smile lighting the whole damned house up. 'Gram will be pissed that she missed this.' She mused as she warned him to slow down and not eat his way into the hospital.

"But they're just so good!" He warbled around another mouthful of the blueberry pancakes. "I mean, you really are becoming very good at cooking." He gulped and grinned cheekily. "Maybe someday the student will be as great as the master?"

"Oh ha ha!" She groused as she grabbed her own plate and started eating. "You know what? Just for that, we're adding an extra half mile to our runs."

She almost laughed when he nearly choked but her love for him kept it in while she helped him get over it.

Then she laughed.

"Fine, fine, you got me." He threw up his hands in mock surrender. "Now can we get back to eating? I feel like having a teacher break the 'no talking while eating' rule is going to scar me for life."

She snorted at that, though she did remain quiet.

She was still getting used to the fact that, as far as all interested parties were concerned, she was now Harry's guardian. She had taken a hell of a risk those two months ago when she confronted the Dursleys about giving Harry over to her care but damned if it hadn't been worth it. Now, she couldn't imagine life without him and she was pretty damned sure her Gram was of the same opinion though the old bird likely wouldn't admit it. 'I mean, look at me flipping pancakes like a damned pro all thanks to a ten- wait, eleven- year old boy.'

It had been an amazing time with him, the past two months, as she came to realize that even what she'd seen in classes with him and during the few extra hours she could grant him away from the Dursleys had barely been the tip of the iceberg. Harry James Potter, for all his social flaws with people his age, was an incredibly smart child with a very agile brain. His love for books had given him a broad imagination that his experiences with his 'relatives' had tempered into an oddly matured mindset. He was easily two classes ahead of his peers in school yet he never bragged about it or tried to act overbearing. 'Honestly, he's actually quite distant.' She admitted as she watched him gobble down what had to be his sixteenth bloody pancake. 'Except when he's around either Gram or myself.' It was why she had been so worried at the zoo yesterday; Harry typically lived on her words, never arguing or disobeying, yet he'd up and disappeared the day before. 'Only to show up later with the Mystery Girl.' On one hand, she should have been rankled that he'd disobeyed her. On the other, much weightier hand, she was happy that he was safe and that he'd somehow struck up a conversation- and then thoroughly enjoyed himself- with a complete stranger that was both his age and female. 'Guess there's hope for you yet, H.P.'

"So, Harry, what do you think we're going to do today?"

In a manner that she had come to recognize as his, Harry furrowed his brows and narrowed his eyes. "Hmm… We were at the zoo yesterday and you gave me a big breakfast… So for today-"

Whatever else he was about to say, we would never know.

Because, at that very moment, an envelope flew right through the mail slot, arched around the room and landed right on top of Harry's last pancake…


	3. Letter

Title: Ripple Effect

You'd be surprised just how far a single act in the throes of hate can go to change a person's life. A single, spitefully spoken word could bring a person to the depths of despair, a single action could spawn a lifelong vendetta, a single thought could bring down an empire.

When Andrew Joshua Talon spitefully threw away every last Hogwarts book in his home, wishing that he had never been involved in the world of magic, he would never know just how far four of those books would travel and just how much the world would change because of it…

[Picture Emily Rose (Haven; SyFy) when you think of Jessica.]

 **Chapter 2- The Letter**

"Just for the record, Harry, I'm not asleep, am I?" She asked as she stared at the letter lying innocuously on her charge's pancake, the envelope completely unblemished even though it lay on a small puddle of blueberry jam. "I'm not, I dunno, having one of those weird 'lost time' episodes?"

"'Lost time' episodes?"

"Oh you know, maybe I just blanked out and missed when you walked out the kitchen, through the dining, into the living room to pick up that letter and then walked back to drop it onto your pancake?"

"Doubtful." He replied, eyes still locked on said object of interest. "Besides, maybe I lost time and you walked over to pick the letter? I mean, you do love pranking."

"Sorry Harry." She threw her hands up in surrender. "This was most definitely not me."

"Well I didn't do it either."

With that admission from both parties, they once again stared at the envelope.

"Should we… I dunno, open it up?"

Jess nodded, prompting Harry to reach for the letter only to have his hand smacked away. "What, have I taught you nothing about pranks? You can't just touch it like that."

The young boy seemed baffled by her words. "So how do we open it?"

"Pliers and a letter knife." The blonde decided after a few moments of thought. "Knife's in the hobby basket by the TV, I'll get the pliers."

Harry nodded and they both, slowly, backed away from the table, their eyes still locked on the letter, watching for any suspicious actions. The instant they were clear of the table's edge, they dashed away to get the respective tools.

"Alright, Harry, I'll pick up the letter and you'll use the knife to break the seal open. Got that?" Jessica whispered to him as they slowly snuck toward the table.

"Got it." Harry nodded fiercely. "You should grab it by the lower corner so the letter will just slide down and out of the envelope when the seal's broken."

"Good idea."

It took a solid fifteen minutes before the two were able to pick the letter up in the desired manner as, for every twitch of the letter, whether caused by the wind or by their jittery nerves, they winced and at least thrice, they had to begin again.

Finally, though, they had the envelope in the air.

Jessica glanced at her charge. "Ready?"

He just nodded.

"Go."

Immediately, the spectacled boy moved forward and hooked the knife behind the seal. With a deft twist, the seal came off, allowing the letter within to slowly slip forward until…

It hung, dangling from the edge of the envelope, not quite in but definitely not out.

The two in the room figured out the problem immediately.

"The pliers." The chorused with weak grins before Jessica let the envelope drop. Luckily, the letter also slid free.

"Okay, now hand me the knife." The blonde gestured with a hand as she dropped the pliers onto the table. "I'm gonna, you know, tease the letter open so it doesn't blow up in our faces or some weird shit."

"I'll… be right behind you." Harry offered tentatively. "For, you know, moral support and stuff."

"And stuff." Jessica agreed absently as she pushed the hair out of her eyes and warily approached the table. Gently, she flicked the edge of the letter up and quickly used the knife to open it up and then weigh it down.

Nothing nefarious happed.

They both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay then, Mr. Potter, I think it's your turn to take the lead."

"Wait, what?!"

"Yup, you stood behind me the last time, offering moral support so I think it's my turn to do the same." She smiled, still a beat weakly at the boy. "Get reading you."

The raven haired boy stared at her for a few moments before sighing in defeat. "Ah bollocks."

Again, the boy cautiously approached the table and leaned over to stare at the words printed in neat calligraphy onto the rolled up paper.

 _Mr. H. Potter,_

 _The Guest Room Upstairs,_

 _18, Privet Drive,_

 _Little Whinging,_

 _Surrey._

 _Dear Mr. Potter,_

 _LETTER OFFERING ADMISSION INTO HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

 _We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

 _As your guardianship currently shows that you are living with informed non-magical people, please find your way to Diagon Alley to procure the enclosed list of books and equipment._

 _The term begins on September 1 and we await your owl by no later than July 31._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Minerva McGonagall,_

 _Deputy Headmistress_

 _P.S.: A map showing directions to Diagon Alley as well as instructions to arrive there are also enclosed._

 _P.P.S.: Please refer to the Magical Bank, Gringotts, for a conversion of your non-magical currency to the accepted form of transaction amongst the magical society._

Harry and his guardian stared at each other for a number of seconds.

"What-

"The-

"Freaking-

"Hell?"

"So you really didn't have anything to do with this." Jessica asked as she stared at the now-spread-out contents of the envelope, her eyes moving from the map to the list of books and materials to the letter itself, taking in all the details and trying to make sense of it all.

"I really didn't." Harry replied from beside her. "Frankly, I almost wish I did, at least that way this wouldn't have hit me like a ton of bricks. Think Gram could have set this up?"

"I doubt it. Gram's more for verbal spars and play on words than practical humor." She shook her head. "Besides, I never talked to her about those books. Did you?"

Harry shook his head. "It's fun playing 'Might and Magic' with you using some of the books' spells and such but I always felt your Gram was a little too grounded in reality to engage in those kinds of stuff."

Coming to a decision in her mind, Jessica pushed her chair back from the table and rose up. "Well, that settles it; Harry, grab a cap and change your shirt.

"We're going on a magical adventure…


	4. Diagon Alley

**Title: Ripple Effect**

You'd be surprised just how far a single act in the throes of hate can go to change a person's life. A single, spitefully spoken word could bring a person to the depths of despair, a single action could spawn a lifelong vendetta, a single thought could bring down an empire.

When Andrew Joshua Talon spitefully threw away every last Hogwarts book in his home, wishing that he had never been involved in the world of magic, he would never know just how far four of those books would travel and just how much the world would change because of it…

 **[Picture Emily Rose (Haven; SyFy) when you think of Jessica.]**

 **Chapter 3- Diagon Alley**

"So, what do you say, Jess?" Harry asked between bites of his croissant. "Should we try it out?"

They'd left their home within ten minutes of agreeing to hunt for 'Diagon Alley' and had spent the next twenty driving toward the designated spot. Now, they were seated in a quaint little café, presumably having a light breakfast, opposite an equally quaint looking shop that had half its store front converted into the most impressive piece of wall art either had seen.

The wall art was of an incredibly busy market scene with the caption 'Diagon Alley' stylized into the top right section and the instructions enclosed in the envelope simply asked them to walk into the shop, stand right in front of the counter and say, clearly, the word 'thaumaturgy'.

They'd spent the last five minutes in quiet deliberation.

"Well, if this is a prank then whoever set it up went through a lot of effort to validate it because I don't recall seeing that shop in all the times I've driven by." Jessica frowned as she continued her keen observation of the building and the people surrounding it. It was something she'd noted soon after they had sat down for their snacks; no one seemed to notice the shop. It was one thing for people to walk by a thing without acknowledging it, after all, people tended not to acknowledge things like fire hydrants and street lamps unless they had to but they still noticed the presence of such. From what she had observed though, it was like the shop simply didn't exist to those walking by.

"Would you like a refill miss?" The voice of the waiter cut into her thoughts, breaking up her train of thoughts before they swiftly readjusted.

"No, thank you." She smiled at the waiter before pressing on. "If you don't mind my asking, how long have you worked here?"

The waiter, taken aback by the question, replied that he'd been there going on seven months.

"That's quite a while." Jessica smiled. "Can you tell me about that building opposite us?"

"Oh that? It's been abandoned since I've known it. Nothing much to say about it really."

The waiter's reply had her frowning and Harry's features mirrored hers. There was no way that building was abandoned. The windows glistened for God's sake! "Was it a shop before or something? Maybe an artist's studio?"

"Not that I know of." The waiter shrugged. "It's always looked as bad as it currently does."

Just then, another customer took a seat at another table and the waiter had to leave them.

"Okay that's it." Jessica decided as she pulled out her purse. "This has my attention too much for me to back out now."

Harry nodded as he wiped his mouth. "If those books you gave me were even slightly connected to what's going on here then I'd say that the building was covered in a glamour to make it look abandoned then a couple of 'notice-me-not' charms were spelled over it to ensure that no one would ever look at it too closely."

"So why are we noticing it now?"

"Runes on the letter, I'd say. Probably designed to break the effects of the charms." Harry whispered back as Jessica slapped enough bills to cover their costs before pushing out of the seat and walking by her side to the building in question.

"Only one way to find out." Jess murmured as they pushed through the door of the unnamed shop. The interior was just as clean as the exterior, though totally bare, and, as the instructions had stated, there was a long counter running along the back wall. "Alright then, Mr. Rabbit, here we come." She added as they tentatively approached the counter. At some point, they had locked their hands together and now guardian and charge shared one emotion-filled glance before staring at the blank back-wall.

"Thaumaturgy!"

Diagon Alley was, simply put, overwhelming.

After all, it's one thing to think of alternate universes, planes and realms and quite another to actually visit one.

That was, of course, what the Alley felt like to the two that had just walked into it; an alternate plane, one that apparently co-existed with the world they knew.

"Twelve sets of eyes and six video recorders wouldn't be enough to cover this!" Harry breathed softly, his hand clutching ever tighter to that of his guardian who clutched back almost as tightly. Their eyes hadn't connected once since they'd said the password back in the shop, flickering all about, trying to take in all the sights. From shops that blatantly advertised cauldrons of various types to those offering the topmost of Quidditch equipment, they were absolutely stumped by it all.

"Holy shit…" Jessica exclaimed softly as they were jostled about by various people headed in different directions. Before leaving their home, she had ensured that herself and Harry had put on clothes that didn't make them stand out, going so far as to tie her normally shoulder length hair into a bun and then placing a cap on that and then wearing a hood over that and making sure that Harry had similar clothes on. Now, though, she found herself wondering if they didn't stand out all the more as, everywhere she looked, she saw more of robes than the casual clothing they had on.

"Okay… So Diagon Alley is not only real, we are standing in it." She muttered as she moved herself and Harry toward a less traffic-prone area. "Alright then Harry, you still have the list of things to buy right?"

"I do." The boy replied, quickly pulling the papers out of his inner pocket.

 **HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

 **UNIFORM**

 **First-year students will require (a minimum of):**

 **1\. Three sets of plain work robes (black)**

 **2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear**

 **3\. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)**

 **4\. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)**

 **Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags**

 **COURSE BOOKS**

 **All students should have a copy of each of the following:**

 **The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk**

 **A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot**

 **Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling**

 **A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch**

 **One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore**

 **Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger**

 **Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander**

 **The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble**

 **OTHER EQUIPMENT**

 **Wand**

 **Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) set**

 **Glass or crystal phials**

 **Telescope set**

 **Brass scales**

 **Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad**

 **PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS**

"Alright…" Jessica nodded after going over the list again, finding that it didn't strike her as strangely as it had when she'd first read it. "Okay then, we need to start off somewhere and since we know about a place with cauldrons we may as well start off there."

"Wouldn't you need money though?" An amused voice said behind them, prompting them to spin around and come face to face with the owner of the voice…


	5. Aurora

**Title: Ripple Effect**

You'd be surprised just how far a single act in the throes of hate can go to change a person's life. A single, spitefully spoken word could bring a person to the depths of despair, a single action could spawn a lifelong vendetta, a single thought could bring down an empire.

When Andrew Joshua Talon spitefully threw away every last Hogwarts book in his home, wishing that he had never been involved in the world of magic, he would never know just how far four of those books would travel and just how much the world would change because of it…

[Picture Emily Rose (Haven; SyFy) when you think of Jessica.]

 **Chapter 4- Aurora**

"You know, seeing this place… Diagon Alley…" Jessica sighed as she sat back and shook her head, her eyes roving all around beneath the bill of her face cap. "So magic is real huh?"

"And I've got to attend a school of magic for the next seven years?" Harry added from her side.

"Yes to both questions." Aurora smiled at the pair before her. The Hogwarts astronomy teacher had taken the morning shift at one of Diagon Alley's four entry points, together with Charity, Filius and Quirrell, as the shift, particularly on the very first day of the letters being sent out, tended to be a very easy one. She had been enjoying a tub of Florean's while reading a mundane fantasy novel when the runes around the entry point detected the entry of an underage magical and a non-magical human. She had watched, as she usually did, the looks of astonishment on their faces, once again wondering if that was how she'd looked the first time she'd seen the alley as a child before walking up to them and answering a few of their questions. She'd yet to ask their names, though, as she felt that it could wait. Turning her attention to the bespectacled boy, she said, "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll have a great time at Hogwarts."

"What's it like there?" Harry asked. "At Hogwarts?"

The question, yet again, brought a nostalgic smile to her face a she recalled herself asking- a very much alive- Cuthbert Binns the very same question. "Hogwarts is, if you'll excuse my usage of the term, a magical place…"

"Well, that sounds pretty amazing." Jessica said after the astronomy teacher concluded her description of the magical school. "I find myself wishing that I was a magical so I could have attended."

And that was the truth; Aurora's words had sold Hogwarts to her. As a fellow teacher, she could tell when one spoke out of love for an experience and when it was simply a rehearsed pitch and everything she'd heard from the dark-skinned woman had sounded very much like the truth.

"Of course, the subject list open for study has dwindled in the last decade to the point where we're just beginning to balance out the more compulsory subjects but… well, I suppose that will have to be explained when your young man gets to school, miss…"

"Drew." The blonde answered the teacher. "I'm Jessica Drew and 'my young man' is Harry."

"Pleased to meet you, Jessica. I'm Aurora Sinistra, Astronomy teacher at Hogwarts."

"Good day Miss Sinistra." Harry greeted politely as he shook her outstretched arm.

"Nah, call me Aurora outside Hogwarts." She replied dismissively. "I like to think that I'm way too young to be called 'Professor Sinistra' when I'm off the clock."

"So you name's Aurora… and you teach astronomy?" Jessica asked, a small grin breaking out on her face.

"Yes to both questions, I'm afraid." Aurora laughed heartily. "Believe me, my mum made as many jokes as she could within the first month of my appointment. I'm just lucky that she didn't know about it until after I'd resumed at work."

The three shared a big laugh at that and most of the apprehension held by the two new-comers to the world of magic dwindled substantially.

"So," Aurora spoke as the laughter died down. "Harry, Jessica, any other questions before I lead you to Gringotts?"

"I've got a metric ton of questions but I'll let Harry complete a term at Hogwarts so I can just ask him instead." Jessica shrugged and sat back in her chair. "How about you, Harry? Anything?"

The boy's brow furrowed in thought. "Well, I know you said that I'd learn more about it at Hogwarts but… what did you mean when you said that the school was 'just beginning to balance out' some of its subjects? I mean, it sounds like Hogwarts is pretty old."

A pall seemed to set over the astronomy teacher as she heard the boy's question, leading to Jessica leaning forward again, curious to know why the question seemed to have caused so much grief for the magic user.

"You might have heard of Adolf Hitler?" Aurora asked quietly and, upon receiving two nods of consent, she continued, "Well, the magical world has had its fair share of supremacists over time and one of the worst such cases ended scarcely a decade ago. A powerful magical being, a Dark Lord, who formed his group that he called the Death Eaters. He felt that only those of pureblood deserved the world and that every other such being should be ground at his heels.

"I won't sicken you with the details so I'll just say that he was able to instill such fear in the magical world that even the mention of his name became a Taboo. He pretty much dragged the magical world into the dark ages.

"People died, Harry, entire families were wiped out in some cases while in others loved ones were torn apart. The magical world fought back desperately and even now many of us carry the scars."

"And this… Dark Lord?" Jessica asked tersely. If he was still floating about…

Aurora just smiled wryly at the blonde. "If he was still around and about, you'd likely be dead by now. In his twisted world-view, the mundane world, and normal, non-magical humans, was beneath pond scum.

"The reason Hogwarts is just balancing out ties back to that time period; many of the greatest minds in various fields were either magical humans with ancestry dating back a few generations rather than the hundreds of generations that made other families 'pure' or half-blood, born of the union of a non-magical human and a pureblood human or even first generation magic humans like I believe you are, Harry.

"Many of those people died and with their deaths, such knowledge became a scarce commodity that the Ministry of Magic believed should be protected and documented. Right now, the school has gradually expanded and found suitable teachers for most posts, though a few are still in need of better staffing. Like our Defense Against the Dark Arts course, a relatively new course that was made mandatory by the Ministry; we've not been able to hold on to a DADA tutor for back to back sessions in the past three years. And since the Ministry believes that Defense should come before learning about the Dark Arts… Well, things aren't looking too bright on that front." She finished with a smile, trying to lift their spirits with the final line.

Her audience hadn't heard most of her final words, though, as they were still stuck back on the pain they'd heard the woman try to conceal.

"Who… Who did you lose?" Harry asked quietly.

His mind was occupied by a vision of a blinding flash of green light so he didn't see Aurora 's face contort in a grimace of heart rending pain before it was ruthlessly squashed away and a beatific smile stretched her lips.

"No one you should bother yourself with Harry. Now come on, Gringotts awaits…"


	6. Gringotts

**Title: Ripple Effect**

You'd be surprised just how far a single act in the throes of hate can go to change a person's life. A single, spitefully spoken word could bring a person to the depths of despair, a single action could spawn a lifelong vendetta, a single thought could bring down an empire.

When Andrew Joshua Talon spitefully threw away every last Hogwarts book in his home, wishing that he had never been involved in the world of magic, he would never know just how far four of those books would travel and just how much the world would change because of it…

[Picture Emily Rose (Haven; SyFy) when you think of Jessica.]

 **Chapter 5- Gringotts**

"Okay this… This is impressive." Jessica marveled at the massive structure towering before them.

"It is indeed." Aurora smiled at the awe present on the faces of the two as she felt the slight tingle of the Gringotts ward-boundary wash over her skin. "Said to be one of the most secure building in magical Britain, if not the merged country, the goblins pride themselves on a simple fact: it's damned near impossible to steal from them."

That statement earned her a skeptic glance from Jessica. "Really."

Aurora just shrugged. "Hey. They haven't been robbed once in the past century and a half, not even any sort of swindling or scamming has gone through and, judging by the reports the Financial Secretary has been releasing, it hasn't been for lack of trying." She completed her sentence just as they walked up to the bank's burnished bronze doors. Off to the side stood a diminutive looking creature wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold. "That's a goblin," she pointed out as she pulled them off to an alcove within view of the guard. "Now, they may seem small, physically, but they are proud people so I'd recommend that you treat them with respect. No wasting of time, no funny business, treat them like you would treat your account manager, Jess. Let them know that you are bringing Harry in for the first time and why and if they need something you cannot provide, tell them that you request my presence."

"Basically, we should treat them with respect because if we don't they can accidentally hike the current currency conversion rates." Jessica smiled a tad wryly, earning a laugh from the dark skinned teacher. "Don't worry, I'll make sure I don't shoot myself in the foot."

The interior of the bank was just as majestic as the exterior, with wide arching hallways and exquisite furbishing that showed opulence without being gaudy. All about the bank, transactions flowed and clients interacted with the goblins.

"You know, even though you read it from the books we found, I still expected them to at least have a hint of green in their skin." Jessica murmured as they shifted around, searching for a free goblin that would attend to them. "Except for the height and maybe the beard, it kinda feels anticlimactic."

"I'm wondering if the elves actually match the descriptions they were given. Wait, this one's free." Harry muttered back as they crossed over to the free goblin.

"Um, hi." Jessica greeted the bored looking goblin before remembering Aurora's suggestions. "I mean, good afternoon. I'm Jessica Drew, a non-magical human. I'm here to make inquiries as regards the current currency conversion rates from the British pound to… um, sorry, what currency is used by the magical society?"

"The Galleon." The goblin replied , still sounding as disinterested as ever, its eyes focused on the papers it was filing. "Any other thing?"

"Yes." Jessica replied, sounding more confident. The little creature, while clearly not deeming her of great importance, certainly didn't seem rude. "You see, I'd like to open an account for my charge here; he'll be starting at Hogwarts by fall and I'd like to see if I can provide funds that he'll have access to if I'm not available."

"Alright then, Miss Drew, what is his name? Your charge, I mean."

"His name's Harry." She replied. "Harry James Potter."


	7. Identity

_**Title: Ripple Effect**_

You'd be surprised just how far a single act in the throes of hate can go to change a person's life. A single, spitefully spoken word could bring a person to the depths of despair, a single action could spawn a lifelong vendetta, a single thought could bring down an empire.

When Andrew Joshua Talon spitefully threw away every last Hogwarts book in his home, wishing that he had never been involved in the world of magic, he would never know just how far four of those books would travel and just how much the world would change because of it…

[Picture Emily Rose (Haven; SyFy) when you think of Jessica.]

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **6**_ _ **-**_ _ **Identity**_

"I don't get it." Jess asked as she watched Aurora return to the private room the goblins had -quite harshly- ushered them into following her response to the teller's question. Her charge had been, almost forcibly, moved to a different room. "Harry and I did as you suggested; we were polite and everything so why the sudden hostility?"

"Miss Drew -Jessica- it's a bit complicated." Aurora replied with her ever present smile plastered on her face.

It reeked of insincerity and the blonde was not afraid to call the magical out on it, prompting a sigh from the Hogwarts professor before her demeanor changed, becoming much colder and distant.

"Miss Drew, if you really _are_ a non-magical human, then I suppose I should tell you that the name you introduced your charge under is quite the popular and powerful one in the British magical community, if not that of the world at large. As such, it has happened that people have attempted to get into the Potter vault here at Gringotts. None of such attempts has _ever_ succeeded."

Jessica's eyes were wide with shock and indignation at the hidden insults. "Wait. You think _I_ want to swindle some bank run by goblins? What, using _Harry_? Sweet Jesus, I only just got the kid into my care, out of the hands of his criminally negligent relatives! I am literally _just_ _ **beginning**_ to wrap my head around the fact that magic apparently exists and exists right here in bloody Britain! What the bloody hell makes you think that I knew jack about Harry's apparent popularity in your community?!"

So upset was she that she never took notice of the slight tingle emanating from her forehead, just between her eyes...

Aurora Sinistra, professor of astronomy at Hogwarts, was a skilled _legillimens_.

Not an expert, mind you, and certainly not a master but she was definitely a decent distance away from the average. It was how she'd managed to convince the goblins to let her be the 'first contact' interrogator of the woman before her.

When she had first met the two, she fully believed that they were all they seemed to be; a pair of newbies to the world of magic, astounded, awed and perhaps a bit shaken at the realization that the world they thought they knew was so much more than what they thought it was.

Her discussions with them had confirmed most of her initial suspicions so it had come as a shock when the goblin messenger had located her with claims that the two she had shown to the bank were impostors. It had taken all of her mediating skill to get the goblins to listen to her opinion that the two should be interrogated first.

Now, as Jessica wound down and he gently pulled out of the non-magical woman's mind, she was very glad that she had done so.

Not only was she truly a non-magical, Jessica was free of any compulsions that tied to any link with the magical community.

She was being absolutely honest, insofar as she knew, and parts of that nearly led Aurora to seeking out the leader of the Wizengamot to tear him a new asshole. In fact, the only reason she had stifled her own rage was that she wanted to hear his side of things first.

Back to the matter at hand, though.

Wearing a contemplative face to hide her use of legillimency, she finally eased up and softened her features. "I believe you, Jessica. And I truly am sorry about my sudden hostility but... To the adults in the magical community, Harry Potter is something of an enigma; a savior who was sequestered away as a child to live in obscurity. The possibility that he might be back so covertly is a bit of an unexpected event and, when the actions of those who would try to take advantage of the name are factored in... Well, that doesn't excuse my behavior. I am truly sorry Jessica."

The woman seemed somewhat mollified by her apology -she _did_ seem like a level headed person- but she requested to see her charge.

"I'll go talk to the goblins." Aurora promised. "They'll still demand for a lineage test to be run to determine the validity of his claim but I believe you. I'll get them to allow Harry back in to take the test here and I'll be here to answer any questions you have during the process.

"Do you agree to this?"

"If that's what it takes to prove his identity, then yes. I agree."


	8. Explanation

_**Title: Ripple Effect**_

You'd be surprised just how far a single act in the throes of hate can go to change a person's life. A single, spitefully spoken word could bring a person to the depths of despair, a single action could spawn a lifelong vendetta, a single thought could bring down an empire.

When Andrew Joshua Talon spitefully threw away every last Hogwarts book in his home, wishing that he had never been involved in the world of magic, he would never know just how far four of those books would travel and just how much the world would change because of it…

[Picture Emily Rose (Haven; SyFy) when you think of Jessica.]

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **7- Explanation**_

"So what just happened?" Harry asked, his eyes locked firmly on Aurora's and shimmering with restrained anger as he was walked back into the holding room Jessica had been questioned in by one of the bank's goblin guards. "Jess and I did exactly what you said we should, Professor."

Years of teaching experience and the bits of information she had gleaned from the non-magical woman's mind as they awaited the green-eyed boy helped Aurora to see beneath the facade of anger that he wore into the child that was afraid to lose the one good thing that had happened to him... Ever. The young man walking over to sit beside his guardian was not some entitled pureblood brat that felt the world was his playground yet he was no regular prepubescent boy more interested in goofing off and playing Quidditch than learning how to act in formal settings. No, he was a young man that had been beaten down and forced to face a side of life that no child should ever have to face. That he seemed so well adjusted was something of a miracle and she knew that treating him as a child in this situation was not a thing he would appreciate.

"Harry I know the behavior of the goblins might have seemed off-putting but please understand that, to a point, they were within their rights." She held up her hands to stall his questions. "Let me explain.

"Like I told Jessica, your name is very popular in the magical community of Britain. You step outside right now with proof that you are _the_ Harry Potter and you'll have everything, from fame to power to all the attempts to manipulate you that will undoubtedly come with it. The power that your name commands is nothing to sneeze at and neither is the wealth. At least, that's what most people think. The temptation has proven a bit much for a some people and on a number of occasions, attempts have been made to swindle Gringotts."

As she expected, he was able to piece things together and come to a conclusion.

"And you think that _we_ tried to steal from you? We didn't even-"

"Harry please, calm down." Jessica pleaded as she sat by his side. "I know it seems absurd but please listen for now okay?"

"I know that you had no clue about the existence of magic until you got the letter," Aurora started after he had calmed down, "and to you, Harry, that explains everything but to the goblins, and pretty much the entire magical community, it means very little. Remember what I said about attempts being made to manipulate you? Believe me, Harry, there are _many c_ reative ways to manipulate people and the magical community has had a lifetime to learn them all. From potions that make the consumer extremely susceptible to suggestions to charms that grant the user an almost undeniable charisma to a spell that can, literally, bend a target's will to the caster's, the methods vary extensively.

"When Jessica said your name to he goblin teller, they instantly took you to be possible criminals, hence the rough treatment and the separation. I won't lie to you, I was quite skeptic about you actually being _the_ Harry Potter so I didn't ask for you to be shown much lenience beyond my being the one to question Jessica."

Again, he pieced the puzzle together, slotted in his -accurate- inferences and shot her a look of distrust that saddened the professor. 'No child should be able to project such cynicism in a single look.'

"What, so you suddenly believe us now?"

The question was something of a minefield, Aurora felt, considering the fact that, had they known that she could simply 'read' their minds they might have been a lot more distrustful of her. In the end, she decided to be pragmatic with her answer

"To a point." She admitted, drawing narrowed eyes from the two opposite her. "Thanks to the tests the goblins performed during your isolation and the talk I had with Jessica, I believe that, of your own volition, both of you are who you say you are, nothing more, nothing less. Are you the Harry Potter' that the British wizarding community has idolized over the past decade? At this point only the goblins can tell and they fully intend to get an answer to that question."

Harry, questions answered and anger having abated, shrank back in his seat upon hearing this and Jessica features became guarded.

"And how exactly do they intend to find out?" The guardian asked warily.

"A lineage test..."

Author's notes:

Unlike my other stories [A New Life, Altered, Replaced], this fic, at least at these initial chapters, will be what I will call bite size. This is because the fic only tarted out as a way for me to reduce the pressure of having too many ideas in my head at once. It may grow to longer lengths in later chapters but for now, chapter length will rarely exceed 1000 words.


	9. Lineage

_**Title: Ripple Effect**_

You'd be surprised just how far a single act in the throes of hate can go to change a person's life. A single, spitefully spoken word could bring a person to the depths of despair, a single action could spawn a lifelong vendetta, a single thought could bring down an empire.

When Andrew Joshua Talon spitefully threw away every last Hogwarts book in his home, wishing that he had never been involved in the world of magic, he would never know just how far four of those books would travel and just how much the world would change because of it…

[Picture Emily Rose (Haven; SyFy) when you think of Jessica.]

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **8- Lineage**_

"So, uh, Aurora, how does this work again?" Jessica asked for what -even to her own self- seemed like the umpteenth time. One couldn't blame her though; the goblin that would be conducting the test, an old hand named Clawgrip, was polishing the silver dagger in his hands with a borderline manic grin.

Harry, the one to take the test, was already seated at the testing table watching with no small amount of trepidation as another pair of goblins reverently brought in a huge, rolled up piece of parchment. Carefully, as if afraid to so much as nick it, the placed it on the table before him and unrolled it to reveal an intricate pattern of concentric circles, each circle bearing different markings at certain intervals.

While she awaited the arrival of the manager for this branch of the bank, Aurora took the time to explain... Again.

"The parchment they've just brought in is the Genealogy Chart I told you about. At this point, we're just awaiting the bank manager to stand as the presiding officer for this and then Clawgrip will -gently-" She threw a glare at the shaman to emphasize the point, "cut an incision in the center of your palm, Harry. You will then be asked to cup your hands until the blood has pooled to a certain amount at which point you will be asked to make a fist and let the blood seep through your knuckles onto the center of the parchment."

"What does the parchment do?" Harry asked.

"I can't tell you exactly how it works; only certain goblin master-crofters and a high-level members of the Artificers Guild can help with that."

"I'm guessing they worked together to create this and still come together to maintain it?" Jessica ventured, earning a nod from the dark-skinned woman in return.

"One of the few things the leaders of our 'high-standing' society deemed important enough to work with the 'lesser races' for." Such was the sheer potency of Aurora's sarcasm that the goblins present in the room didn't even react to the statement. "What I can tell you is that the parchment will identify the most dominant markers in the sample provi-"

"We would prefer it if you _didn't_ explain the workings -inner or not- of a Gringotts relic to suspected criminals Lady Sinistra." A grizzled voice grunted from behind them, prompting the two magic-newbies to whip their heads back in a single, whiplash-inducing move. Aurora on the other hand was every bit the elegant daughter of a noble house as she tuned to the bearer of the voice and offered a slight incline of the head in respect. "Master Blackhorn. I apologize for any possible violations of protocols but I have come to believe that young Master Potter here is, in fact, _the_ Harry Potter."

The goblin's disinterested look never wavered. "We will find out." A slight motion to the shaman and he lurched into action.

"Step away from the table." The shaman barked at Jessica, finally in his element, before turning to Harry. "Eyes forward boy! Lady Sinistra has already told you what is expected so let us begin. I have things to do."

With a gulp, Harry sat straight and stretched his hand out till it hovered right over the center of the parchment. At the shaman's directive, he turned his palm upward and splayed his fingers outward to fully expose the palm.

With a deft swipe, the goblin opened a thin but deep line in his palm, moving so swiftly and precisely that not a drop stuck to the blade of the dagger. Ordering the boy to cup his palm, he then began a series of harsh sounding clicks, grunts and hisses that Harry instinctively knew was the language of goblinkind.

Gently at first, the raven haired boy felt a warmth radiate from his navel before traveling through the lower extremities of his body. It was soothing, like being slowly immersed in a sauna... Relaxing... As the sensation crawled up his body, though, it began to change, cooling as it reached his chest before becoming downright icy as it reached his neck. The pain grew, twisting and evolving until it felt more like his very _skin_ sought to run away from the sensation.

The pain reached its crescendo as it crawled past his forehead and over his scalp, his eyes rolled back in his head and his jaws locked so tight he could feel his gum bleed. Somewhere within that pain, he felt more than heard the shaman's order for him to make a fist. Pushing through the pain, he commanded his hand to make a fist. Gradually, he felt the sensation recede, crawling back through his veins into his fist before leaving him.

Exhaustion hit him worse than after the longest 'Harry-hunting' episode.

"Harry!" Jessica cried, rushing to his side as he slumped in the seat, Aurora barely a second behind her. Around them, the four goblins in the room -bar the still chanting shaman- seemed too stunned to move."What happened to him?!"

"I- I don't know." Aurora seemed every bit as distraught as the woman beside her. "I've never heard of such a thing happening." It had been terrifying. For the first few moments, things had been normal as the goblin's chant had gently drawn Harry's innate magic to the surface in order to imbue his blood with the magic. Then, suddenly, his peaceful visage began to twitch, seemingly at random before he abruptly locked his jaw as his face contorted in signs of intense pain. She'd had to physically prevent Jessica from contaminating the sample by rushing forward at that critical stage before the boy simply slumped, the sampling process complete.

"Is _this_ what magic is all about?" Jessica yelled, tears of anger and pain leaking out the corners of her eyes. "In the past half hour we have been accused of a crime we knew nothing about, treated like scum and now _this_?!"

Aurora knew she had to do something at that point. Beyond the question of whether or not this was _the_ Harry Potter, the young man was definitely a magical and what she had just seen -if her guess was anywhere near the truth- meant that his magic was incompatible with his own body. That kind of problem **needed** urgent help. "Jessica please believe me. I had no idea this could even happen. Look around you, the only goblin still moving is the shaman and that's because he's in a trance with whatever spell he's weaving now. None of us knew this could happen."

Sometime during her words, the manager, Blackhorn, finally snapped out of the dumbfounded spell he'd been held by. "Madam Drew, my apologies for this, I... I have never observed such a reaction to the lineage test. Even the actions of Shaman Clawgrip is beyond my understanding of the actions taken by shaman during the lineage test. Please accept my apologies."

She didn't want to listen. In fact, Jessica would have liked nothing more than to go on raving about the treatment they had experienced but, at that moment, she felt a hand gently rest on her shoulder and she turned to see Aurora silently pleading or her to let it go. And so, with a sigh, she accepted the goblin's apology.

It was only then that they noticed the shaman's body swaying haggardly, his chants finally drawing to an end.

"Clawgrip!" Blackhorn barked as the two goblin guards in the room hastened to support the shaman. "What happened?"

"The boy... his body holds... conflicting magical energies..." The shaman gasped between ponderous intakes of air. "Parasitic energy inside... nearly tore him apart... had to isolate parasite sample to prevent it from infusing the atmosphere here... lest it find more hosts... spread..."

With those final words, the shaman passed out and his understudy swiftly ran diagnostics. "Master Blackhorn, Shaman Clawgrip's core is running at less than ten percent and his body has gone into its restorative slumber cycle."

"Cutshank, Nailgrind, get Shaman Clawgrip to the restoration chambers." The manager ordered the two guards before turning to the understudy. "You have worked with him for many years; can you decipher the results of the test?"

The understudy, whose eyes had strayed away with the body of his master, snapped back to attention. "I will do my best." He replied with a bow before turning to the parchment on the table. His eyes had barely gone over the contents before they furrowed in consternation, something Aurora picked up instantly and spoke up on.

"These results... They are very unusual Lady Sinistra." The understudy replied a tad evasively as he tried to ensure that he wasn't seeing things that weren't there. Another prodding question from the Hogwarts professor, backed up by a command from the bank manager cut off his observation time. "Lady Sinistra... Madam Drew, when tests like this are conducted, we often see a single ancestral lineage as the subjects are nigh-always halfbloods. A few times we see two in tests regarding the... Illegitimate offspring or contested parentage of purebloods.

"This is the first time, as far as my studies have shown, that a lineage test shows _three_ ancestral lineages."

Absolute silence was his response, though he had expected that.

The understudy forged on. "Even stranger is the fact that the third lineage was identified by magical marker only, unlike the other two that show both magical _and_ blood markers.

"What does that mean?" Jessica asked as she absentmindedly stroked Harry's hair.

"The chants of the shaman were to draw forth Heir Potter's magic to the surface and imbue his blood with the essence. That way, the parchment identifies the lineage of the target by searching for both blood and magical similarities." Aurora choked out, absently noting the understudy's term of address for Harry.

"Lady Sinistra is correct." The understudy continued. "However, in Heir Potter's case, a third ancestral lineage shows up that is connected to a magical sample alone. Judging by the words of my master, I am inclined to believe that this third lineage is connected to the parasitic energy in his body."

"So... So what lineages is he connected to?" Blackhorn forced out.

"Paternally, he is most strongly connected to the line of the Potters, making him the Heir of the Ancient and Noble House; however, he also bears a strong connection to the Most Ancient and Noble House Black by a blood-magic connection not more than three generations removed.

"His maternal line strongly connects him to the -now extinct- House Havens through which he is connected to the Founding House Hufflepuff.

"The third lineage is a weak connection to the -now extinct- House Gaunt, through which he is connected to the Founding House Slytherin."

Two Founding Houses, a Most Ancient and Noble House, the last of an Ancient and Noble House, the first of two _extinct_ Noble Houses; one light, two dark and three grays.

Not even three hours back and Harry Potter was _poised_ to take the Wizarding community by storm.

Author's Note: The Horcrux is still within Harry. What Clawgrip meant when he side that he was isolating the parasite sample from infecting others is my twist on the effect a Horcrux has on those that come into possession of one; in canon, the Horcrux twists the wielder according to the behavior of the creator. Here, since Harry is a Horcrux, Voldemort's soul shard in the sample would have attempted to do the same to anyone it latched on to. Would it have spread like Clawgrip feared? Not likely; the Horcrux isn't a virus and a simple cleaning ritual would have purified whoever got infected, the reason he said what he did is that he hasn't thought of Harry being a Horcrux (a living Horcrux?! Impossible!)

Hope this helps.


	10. Agreement

_**Title: Ripple Effect**_

You'd be surprised just how far a single act in the throes of hate can go to change a person's life. A single, spitefully spoken word could bring a person to the depths of despair, a single action could spawn a lifelong vendetta, a single thought could bring down an empire.

When Andrew Joshua Talon spitefully threw away every last Hogwarts book in his home, wishing that he had never been involved in the world of magic, he would never know just how far four of those books would travel and just how much the world would change because of it…

[Picture Emily Rose (Haven; SyFy) when you think of Jessica.]

[Picture Marisol Nichols (24, Day 6) when you think of Aurora.]

 _ **Chapter 9- Agreement**_

Aurora's mind was firing on all cylinders as she considered the sheer enormity of the understudy's words. The sheer potential political power that Harry could wield if he claimed all the titles his lineage connected him to was immense and, as she glanced around the room, she could tell that she would need time to prepare the now waking Heir of House Potter for the inevitable deluge of predators that would sell their own daughters to control that power.

"Master Blackhorn, I'm offering two thousand galleons for Gringotts to keep this affair and the information revealed to itself and itself alone."

Blackhorn, who had been eyeing the young heir like he was a piece of choice meat, instantly schooled his features into a neutral glance and his next glance at Harry, while predatory, now seemed much more focused. "Two thousand galleons, Lady Sinistra? The information you wish to have suppressed here will surely shake your world up quite a bit."

"It will become public knowledge sooner or later." Aurora countered, sounding quite bored. "And while I would prefer to have it be later rather than sooner, I could simply choose not to pay you."

"No skin of my back, as you humans are wont to say." The manager shrugged and turned to leave.

Aurora swore violently to herself. 'Maami would kill me if she was here for acting so stupidly.' And she knew she had: jumping to make the offer first instead of subtly introducing the topic and letting Blackhorn make the offer to help keep the information under wraps was a rookie mistake that, had her occlumentic barriers been up, she wouldn't have made. 'Except they weren't active; _**somebody's**_ shocking lineage reveal blew them right the fuck out of my head.'

"Two thousand galleons." She reiterated, drawing Blackhorn's gaze which she locked onto firmly. "Plus, in exchange for a comprehensive study of the foreign sample the shaman discovered in Master Potter's magical signature, Gringotts gets half my vault's income for the next three months."

"Six months." Blackhorn shot back.

Aurora's normally warm brown eyes hardened. "Three months. Otherwise you might as well yell from the top of this building for all I care."

It was the goblin's turn to think furiously, his mind shifting the details about endlessly like pawns on a chessboard, seeking the best possible outcome. On one hand, if he chose not to accept, it wouldn't affect Gringotts negatively. In fact, he could manipulate things such that Gringotts could actually sell the information to the Ministry of Magic, earning the bank a hefty profit and a nice little status bump or himself. Unfortunately, as he very well knew, humans were terribly fickle creatures that could switch opinions faster than he could hack a boar's head off. While the bank would benefit from such a sale, it would only take a whisper from one such as the Malfoy or, even worse, the _Sinistra_ Warlock to have the rest of the wizarding community wary of a bank that would 'sell their secrets to the highest bidder.'

On the other hand, acceptance would, in the short term, bring a much smaller bonus for the bank, one without the personal status bump, but in the long term, if the relationship was maintained very well, could lead to a closer connection to the heiress of a Noble House and the single most politically connected youth he had ever met in his life. That said youth was _also_ the single most famous wizard alive bar perhaps Dumbledore made his decision much easier.

It was a hell of a gamble but it was one Blackhorn felt he could defend before the Caucus.

"I suppose your terms are... Reasonable." He groused, playing into the role of one forced to accept a fact while placing his fisted right hand over his heart. "I, Blackhorn, son of Rotgus, Manager of Gringotts, Diagon Alley, London, do hereby agree to the terms laid down by the Lady Aurora Sinistra of the Sinistra Noble House as regards the events witnessed within this room surrounding the lineage of Master Harry Potter."

Upon the completion of his oath, he felt the Gringotts geas, intricately woven into the very existence of the institution itself, lock onto his words and mark them down.

Aurora, having felt the flow of binding magic, nodded her acceptance.

"I'll have it written down and sent to you." The goblin stated as he walked out with his entourage. "The room is yours till the signatures dry."

Aurora's phrase 'half my vault's income' doesn't mean half of the value of her vault; it means half of the income going to her vault i.e. her salary as a Hogwarts professor, her income from the Sinistra family vaults, her own investments etc.

P.S: I finally found an actress for Aurora! Yay me!


	11. Awake

_**Title: Ripple Effect**_

You'd be surprised just how far a single act in the throes of hate can go to change a person's life. A single, spitefully spoken word could bring a person to the depths of despair, a single action could spawn a lifelong vendetta, a single thought could bring down an empire.

When Andrew Joshua Talon spitefully threw away every last Hogwarts book in his home, wishing that he had never been involved in the world of magic, he would never know just how far four of those books would travel and just how much the world would change because of it…

[Picture Emily Rose (Haven; SyFy) when you think of Jessica.]

[Picture Marisol Nichols (24, Day 6) when you think of Aurora.]

 _ **Chapter 10- Awake**_

Harry James Potter was a lot of things, not all of them positive.

He was not, however, oblivious neither was he unobservant.

He couldn't be; not after years of being treated like dirt and being hunted on top of all that.

So, as he watched the interaction between Aurora and Blackhorn, his mind whirred as fast as it could, processing everything it saw and coming to a conclusion:

' _That was a lot of bargaining over someone who, just minutes ago, was little more than a suspected criminal.'_

Then:

' _If that means what I think it does then the Dursleys will_ wish _they'd kept their grabby paws on me.'_ Then, he gave a little mental snort. _'Of course, that would mean that they would have had to have seen me as a normal boy and heaven forbid_ that!'

He was brought out of his thoughts by Blackhorn's gravelly voice; "… the room is yours till the signatures dry," after which their goblin hosts left the room.

"Are the implications of what just happened as tremendous as I believe?" Audrey asked the instant the door clicked shut to which Aurora sucked in a deep breath and then let it all out in a single whoosh.

"Honestly? Maybe even more so."

That response had Harry's full attention. "How come?"

He watched as a storm of emotions washed over the dark skinned woman, interspersed by bursts of controlled calm, before her features arranged themselves into a weary look.

After dragging a chair back to join them, Aurora essentially collapsed into the plain looking piece of furniture and sighed tiredly.

"Do you remember when I told you about the Wizarding world's version of Hitler?"

Both Harry and Jessica nodded, eager to know just what had brought that look of brokenness to such a confident woman.

"Well, we typically avoid saying his name, he was _that_ terrifying, but I believe that you Harry, of all people, need to know."

Something didn't seem right to either of the two inductees to the Wizarding world. Harry was, as far as either were concerned, as fresh a face as his guardian to the magical world yet he was already a famous persona to the extent that people had tried to impersonate him. Now, with the bomb Aurora had just dropped, both their minds came to, dissimilar yet equally terrifying conclusions.

"He's the reason Harry's an orphan." Audrey gasped, horrified.

On the other hand, Harry's words were delivered in a flat tone, belying none of the shock and fear that ripple through him as various dreams, shards of memories and seemingly random daydreams coalesced into a single statement. "I destroyed him."

Even through her own pain, Aurora was impressed and a little shocked at how swiftly they had come to such accurate conclusions but she decided that the answers to her own questions could wait till a later time. As such, she simply nodded in response to both. "His name… was Voldemort…"

Olufunke Abimbola Sinistra, nee Olugosi, was a woman few dared to challenge, be it verbally, mentally or magically.

At the advanced age of a hundred and forty six, she, along with Augusta Longbottom and Olenna Tyrell formed the trio of women that not even the minister of magic, not even Dumbledore, would approach without damned good cause.

A Nigerian-born witch, Olufunke was considered to be the middle of her counterparts' extremes; possessing the cold fury of Dame Longbottom yet capable of the sort of subtly destructive scheming that the Queen of Thorns had perfected as a youth.

Yet, like her counterparts, she rarely surfaced without cause, choosing instead to be the guiding rudder to her family in the wake of the War.

That was why, when she Flooed the Headmaster of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, asking that her granddaughter be given a leave of absence until the beginning of the term in September, McGonagall knew that something was off.

"Come now, Minerva, Aurora has been a diligent worker for the duration of her work with Hogwarts." The elder sounding quite put out by the assistant headmistress' complaints. "You know that I would never have called her off if it wasn't a matter of pressing House business and I'm damned certain that the old coot would have agreed with me if he was there."

"But he is not, Lady Sinistra." McGonagall tried again to get the woman to see things from her perspective though she had a sinking feeling that she was making little to no progress. A tiny, very much Scottish, part of her was cursing (only verbally, though) Dumbledore and the ICW for their really shitty timing, never mind the fact that the meeting had been scheduled almost a month ago. "And as the assistant headmistress-"

"You have no spine? Yemoja uphold me, girl where's that backbone you used to have?" Funke cut in brusquely, her patience gone. "In Dumbledore's absence, _you_ are the head of the damned so act like it. Aurora will not be available until the first of September. Deal with it."

And with that, she cut off the connection.

"Sweet Mother, what happened to that girl?" The elder scowled as she crossed the fireplace to rest in the seat opposite her granddaughter. "She was such a spitfire when I taught her."

Aurora smiled amusedly at her grandmother, filing the memory she had just seen under her 'Possible Patronus Fuel' mental catalog. "Maybe old age has mellowed her out?"

Funke just arched an eye brow at that as if to say 'have you seen me recently?' "You have no right to talk. Barely a quarter of her age and you can't take advantage of a possible deal."

'Yup,' Aurora thought as she concealed a slight grimace. 'Should have seen _that_ one coming.'

Grandmother and granddaughter were quiet for a while until the elder finally broke the silence.

"You've never asked me for something like this, Aurora. What's going on?"

Thinking back to the conversation that she'd had with Harry and Jessica less than two hours before, the dark skinned professor could only reply; "It'll be easier to believe when they get here, Maami…"


	12. Understanding

_**Title: Ripple Effect**_

You'd be surprised just how far a single act in the throes of hate can go to change a person's life. A single, spitefully spoken word could bring a person to the depths of despair, a single action could spawn a lifelong vendetta, a single thought could bring down an empire.

When Andrew Joshua Talon spitefully threw away every last Hogwarts book in his home, wishing that he had never been involved in the world of magic, he would never know just how far four of those books would travel and just how much the world would change because of it…

[Picture Emily Rose (Haven; SyFy) when you think of Jessica.]

[Picture Marisol Nichols (24, Day 6) when you think of Aurora.]

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **11- Understanding**_

" _Hello Harry."_

His eyes snapped open the instant he heard that soft, sibilant voice reverberate through his bones. Something about that voice had his skin _crawling_ in a primal desire to get as far away as he could from the darkness. Even so, he tried to calm down, control his breathing and think of a way out.

" _I'm sorry, does the scenery scare you? I find such yawning dark voids... Relaxing..."_

His last memory was of Jessica bidding him good night as she walked out of the room Aurora had prepared for him in the Sinistra family home. They had moved in earlier that day, just three days after their eventful entry (re-entry in his case) into the magical world, after Aurora's offer to train him on what to expect of his new life.

" _I must say, welcome back dear boy. It has been a dull eleven years without Britain's own 'messiah'."_

It was at that point that the fear set in. The sheer sarcastic malice that the voice had injected into the word 'messiah' had the young boy all but losing his mind and sprinting as far away as he could.

The voice simply cackled mockingly. _"Aw... Look at the little one run..."_

Harry felt a light brush against his skin before he felt a force grip him by the throat and lift him ever so slowly until his toes were completely off the ground.

" _Did you think you were coming to a place of fun?"_ The voice cooed softly, bathing his face in its warm, fetid breath, choking him even more than the force gripping him by the throat. " _Did you think that magic was a thing of joy?"_

Abruptly, the force around his throat vanished, dropping him onto his ass. He didn't even think of the pain stabbing through his spine as he scrabbled to his feet and continued running.

" _Magic is not all fun and games_ boy. _"_ The voice spat mockingly, echoing around him as he ran. _"I could inflict so much pain on you that every cell inside you_ begs _for death; I could tear you apart limb from limb, I could simply liquefy your innards..."_

As each word echoed around, Harry felt each and every form of the torture being inflicted upon him.

Still, he ran.

" _I of course, I could always just rip into your mind and destroy all that makes you... You..."_

A searing pain tore through his head at that point, stopping in him in his tracks as he fell to his knees clutching his head, his eyes squeezed shut tight.

" _Magic is a wonderful thing, Harry, make no mistake about that._ " The voice said softly, all traces of mockery and malice gone from its voice as the headache slowly diminished. _"But never forget that some of the most toxic animals beneath the waters are the most alluring..."_

And with that, the voice and the darkness simply dissipated.

‹‹‡››

Funke watched as the dark haired boy's eyes snapped open, bright green eyes locking onto deep brown orbs within moments. She could see the gears in his mind turning even as he calmed his mind from the fright she had given him.

Her respect for him rose when he asked a simple question: "Why?"

A wry smile stretched across her mouth. "You needed to understand."

‹‹‡››

This chapter is actually the shortest in this fic by my count but I needed it to be stand alone with no additions because it has a very precise purpose.

To Cassandra: Thanks for the load of reviews! I really should have posted this last time but I kinda sorta got distracted. im sorry. as for the abomination... well...

To mwinter1: I didn't change back and forth from Jess to Audrey did I? if I did i'm really sorry. i'll take time to comb through the chaps to find the errors.

To LordWarren: My first reviewer on this fic! i'm so sorry I haven't done this but i'm doing it now: THANK YOU!


	13. Thoughts

_**Title: Ripple Effect**_

You'd be surprised just how far a single act in the throes of hate can go to change a person's life. A single, spitefully spoken word could bring a person to the depths of despair, a single action could spawn a lifelong vendetta, a single thought could bring down an empire.

When Andrew Joshua Talon spitefully threw away every last Hogwarts book in his home, wishing that he had never been involved in the world of magic, he would never know just how far four of those books would travel and just how much the world would change because of it…

[Picture Emily Rose (Haven; SyFy) when you think of Jessica.]

[Picture Marisol Nichols (24, Day 6) when you think of Aurora.]

[Google Joke Silva to get a mental image of Olufunke.]

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **12- Thoughts**_

"So what's your take on him?" Aurora asked as she watched her grandmother quietly shut the door the younger of their guests resided in.

"You stayed up all night to ask me that?"

The younger witch shrugged casually. 'Not particularly, no. In fact, I'd rather have gone to bed since you'd already promised to go easy on him but Jessica wants to know that as much as I do and I'm certain you'd rather sleep in than wake up early to provide answers to my questions so I chose to get said answers ASAP."

"Don't blame me if you feel sleepy later in the day." Funke stated dryly as she walked into her bedroom.

"I'll try not to." Aurora smiled. "Drink before bed?"

"Please. Top shelf." The older witch yawned as she dropped into her chair.

Moving with the ease of one who had performed a task a multitude of times, Aurora swung by her grandmother's shelf, pulling out a bottle of red wine from the specified shelf with one hand while pulling out a pair of glasses with the other.

Funke nodded as she received her glass. "Thank you." Taking a long pull from the glass, the older woman sighed, taking time to savor the aroma of the wine before resting back and throwing her head up to stare at the ceiling. "You asked about young Master Potter?"

Aurora nodded, setting her glass aside so she could focus on the coming reply.

"To begin with, I must say that it has been a while since I've encountered a youth with so much repressed potential. His magical aura alone registers to the senses like a mature adult's rather than an untrained child and I'm certain that it could be even more potent."

"How come?"

The older witch breather out heavily. "His magic is being held back, I'd hazard a guess and say that he has subconsciously placed limiters on his own magic. It's one of the reasons displays of accidental magic aren't shunned in the magical community; a child could, subconsciously limit his or her own ability in order to 'fit in'."

"Could those be the-"

"Weights you felt in his mind?" Funke finished before nodding sadly. "I believe so, I'm afraid. What those pigs did to him..."

The realization of the magnitude of work that lay before her made Aurora lean back in her seat, eyes wide. "Oh boy... I've got a _lot_ of work to do. What else?"

"He's been forced to mature at a criminal rate for a child and only the presence of Miss Drew-"

"Jessica. She'd prefer it if you called her that."

"Alright then, Jessica's presence is the only reason he isn't suffering more extreme psychological cracks. As it is, I'd guess that it may take as much as three years of all three of us showing him that he belongs for him to learn to fully let go of his own inhibitions."

"Three years..." Aurora breathed quietly, in her mind wishing for nothing more than to go out and hunt down Harry's... She couldn't even think of them as 'relatives' without wanting to-

"Crush that glass and you'll buy me a new set." Her grandmother's voice warned. "And I'm certain that you know just how rare that particular set is."

She did. The glass in question was part of a set that her grandfather had commissioned specifically for his wedding. And the man that had done the job was known for his costly pieces.

"That's better. As much as I'd like to go out there and perform a few experimental dark spells on them we can't risk calling further attention to Harry's life with those... _things_."

"I'm pretty sure I can pull it off without calling any attention to him." The younger witch replied a tad petulantly.

"Those are your emotions speaking, Aurora, and as much as I appreciate your not putting up any barriers when we're alone like this, I think you should, at least for now, put up your emotion filter. There are some risks we cannot afford to take, especially since you're still uncertain of Brian's position in all this."

Though she still had strong thoughts regarding the issue, Aurora chose to let the issue drop, choosing instead to steer the conversation back to its original path. "So what else? About Harry, I mean. What other thoughts did you have about him?"

"Besides his tremendous potential? Very little, Aurora." Funke shrugged before choosing to explain herself. "When you experience as much as I have, you will understand that, at the end of it all, children, for all their emotions, habits and behaviors, are just masses of potential; how that potential is nurtured is what matters.

"Harry Potter is one of the potential world shapers of his generation; his own innate power, his unique bloodline, the positions he can claim via blood and a tremendous influence only outmatched by an extreme few... All that's left is a drive to attain a goal."

At this point, the Sinistra family matriarch sat forward and stared intently into her granddaughter's eyes, a flash of emotion the younger witch couldn't quite place crossing her eyes.

It looked like an odd mix of fear, wary caution and intense pride.

"Harry Potter has a a drive... An _ambition_ matched by **very** few..."

‹‹‡››

 **SUMMERSLAM!**

 **SETH FREAKIN' ROLLINS!**

 **ROMAN REIGNS!**

 **ROWDY RONDA ROUSEY!**

That is all.

A chapter or two may be put in to give a few hints of Harry's time with the Sinistra women.

Or maybe I'll just go straight to Hogwarts and drop hints via flashback.

Yo Cass! Mwinter! LordWarren and all my other reviewers! What do you think?

A chapter or two more or Hogwarts straight up?

Lemme know via reviews.


	14. King's Cross

_**Title: Ripple Effect**_

You'd be surprised just how far a single act in the throes of hate can go to change a person's life. A single, spitefully spoken word could bring a person to the depths of despair, a single action could spawn a lifelong vendetta, a single thought could bring down an empire.

When Andrew Joshua Talon spitefully threw away every last Hogwarts book in his home, wishing that he had never been involved in the world of magic, he would never know just how far four of those books would travel and just how much the world would change because of it…

[Picture Emily Rose (Haven; SyFy) when you think of Jessica.]

[Picture Marisol Nichols (24, Day 6) when you think of Aurora.]

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **13- King**_ _ **'s Cross**_

"So, you remember the plan?" Jessica asked as they made their way past the throng at King's Cross Station. It was September first, the resumption date at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and, following two weeks of carefully planned trips through London's lesser known magical markets, Harry was ready to begin this new phase of his life.

The young redhead beside her nodded, his eyes still stinging lightly from the spell Funke had cast over them just before they'd left the Sinistra home just that morning. Designed to grant the subject of the spell enhanced eyesight for a twenty-four hour period, the Sinistra matriarch had combined it with a cosmetic spell to alter the shade of his eyes from their typically brilliant green to a much duller tone. Combined with his dyed hair and a few more cosmetic enhancements, even _he_ hadn't recognized himself when they were done.

"I've got it down pat, Jess; don't introduce yourself as Harry Potter or activate the release spell on the cosmetic enhancers until the Sorting begins and do **not** do anything that will put you at the center of attention." He recited in an almost robotic tone before grinning. "Did I miss anyone?"

"You forgot 'don't be such a smartass!'" The blonde growled playfully as she bumped into him. A slightly annoyed sounding hoot came from the delicately balanced cage atop the pile of possessions that they hauled around, causing both humans to grin sheepishly. "Sorry Hedwig."

A couple more trills came from the cage before the snowy owl decided that they had been chastised enough.

"So, Platform nine and three-quarters?" Harry asked as they arrived before the pillar that Aurora had specified.

A quick glance backward followed by a headcount and Jessica decided that they were there. "I guess this is it huh?"

"At least until Christmas." Harry replied, holding back tears that had sprung up from... somewhere. "Kinda wish they'd made the Platform available to non-magical first timers."

"Hey, by Christmas you'll know how to bring me along with you." The blonde smiled gently, though she was barely restraining her own emotions. "I mean, the school authorities had to take precautions so random people wouldn't walk onto the platform."

"I guess." The boy sniffled sadly. "I'll miss you, Jess."

"So will I, Harry." The blonde replied as she sank to her knees, bringing their eyes level. "I'll be sure to get the fireplace back in order within the week so we can talk on Saturday."

Harry tried to nod but, overcome by emotions, he couldn't even move.

Knowing this, Jessica leaned forward and pulled him into a tight hug that said all they couldn't verbally communicate.

Kneeling there, in the center of the busy terminal, hugging themselves tightly and basically not caring about the universe in that moment, the two would later on be glad for the notice-me-not wards weaved into the fabric of the gateway.

"It's time to go, Harry." Jessica whispered softly as she gently pulled away.

Stubbornly, the boy held on, not quite ready to let go.

"You have to go, Harry, we've already cut it close, getting here a few minutes before the final call. You need to go now."

He wanted nothing more than to stay there, wrapped in her arms and feeling the wealth of love she had for him but if Harry had learned anything from Aurora's grandmother, it was that he _needed_ to understand magic.

And he needed Hogwarts for that.

"Talk to you Saturday?"

Jessica kissed his forehead softly. "Definitely."

And with that, Harry took hold of his trolley and pushed it away...

Toward a new beginning...


	15. Train

_**Title: Ripple Effect**_

You'd be surprised just how far a single act in the throes of hate can go to change a person's life. A single, spitefully spoken word could bring a person to the depths of despair, a single action could spawn a lifelong vendetta, a single thought could bring down an empire.

When Andrew Joshua Talon spitefully threw away every last Hogwarts book in his home, wishing that he had never been involved in the world of magic, he would never know just how far four of those books would travel and just how much the world would change because of it…

[Picture Emily Rose (Haven; SyFy) when you think of Jessica.]

[Picture Marisol Nichols (24, Day 6) when you think of Aurora.]

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **14- Train**_

" _You may be getting on that train disguised as a new inductee into the world of magic but the moment you release the spells we cast on you, you become the scion of an Ancient and Noble house. There are certain behaviors that will be expected of you. Some, you will choose not to carry, and frankly I'll prefer it if you didn't act like an arrogant ass, but others you_ _ **must**_ _display. Chief among these is confidence."_

Funke's words kept spinning through Harry's mind as he made his way through the train, seeking a compartment he could sit in for the duration of the journey. He'd made it onto the Hogwarts Express just in time, together with a number of other stragglers, most of whom seemed to be new inductees like himself, cheeks still glistening with tears as they left the world they knew behind.

He didn't have that luxury.

Though his identity was disguised at the moment, he couldn't be like the others, all tears and sniffles. Doing so put his true identity, that of the Scion of House Potter, at risk of seeming like a blubbering child and he could not afford that image.

As Aurora's grandmother had said, the image he showed the world was what the world would respond to.

So the emotions were locked tightly behind his shoddy occlumentic barriers and held back by mental sweat, willpower and a hell of a lot of prayers.

"Would you like to join me?" A shy but polite voice said, breaking him out of his internal ramblings and he turned to see who it was.

"It's you!"

‹‹‡››

Sally-Anne Perks had always thought of herself as a normal girl; plain looks, normal parents, normal family, normal neighborhood... If she had been told three months ago that she would be on a train taking her to a school where she could learn magic... Well, she'd simply have laughed it off and forgotten all about it.

Yet here she was, on the very train she'd have laughed off, going to the very school she would have casually forgotten about.

It was a very odd experience, to say he least.

So, when she had boarded the train and found herself an empty cabin, she had settled in for the beginning of what would likely be a magically plain and plainly magical experience.

She would never understand why she stood at the doorway at that moment on that very day; perhaps she was destined to do so or maybe it was just a hilarious coincidence, the point was that she was standing there when she noticed the boy walking down the aisle toward her, his dull red hair tousled like her dad's when he just got out of bed and his dull green eyes focused ahead tightly, like he was keeping up a front.

"Would you like to join me?" The moment the words were out, she slapped her hands over her mouth. She hadn't meant to say that!

The red-haired boy glanced at her almost dismissively at first before snapping back with all of the laser focus he had when she first noticed him. "It's you!"

Off all the things she was expecting, those words certainly weren't on the list.

‹‹‡››

The instant the words were out of his mouth, Harry felt like whacking himself over the head with a stick.

After everything; the disguise, the mental workouts, the cautionary lectures, after _all of that_ , the very first thing he did when he met someone was to box himself into a corner.

'Idiot! The last time she saw you, you had black hair and bright green eyes!' He chided himself harshly as he stared at her a bit longer, recalling her face with perfect clarity. Yeah, it was definitely 'mystery girl' from the zoo. 'God, how am I supposed to get past _this_?'

"Um... Do you want to come in?" She asked softly, gesturing to the empty cabin. "I can help you with your things, um, you can tell me about how you know me."

"Sure, thank you." He smiled politely. It wasn't like he had anywhere to go anyhow. 'Plus, it was only a about half an hour anyway. She can't possibly recognize me.' He reasoned. There was nothing to be worried about in the end.

Working together, they were able to stash the Potter scion's luggage into the holding compartments, after which they took their seats and stared at each other.

Just before she spoke, Harry shot his hand outward for a shake. "James. Harry James."

"Um, hello James," The girl smiled at him as she shook the proffered limb. "I'm Sally-Anne Perks. You can call me Sally or Anne. So, how do you know me?"

'Persistent much?' He wondered to himself. "I'm sorry for that mix-up, Sally, I just thought you were someone else."

"Oh. Okay then. Are you new to this whole magic thing?"

Something about the way she simply took his words at face value and then changed the topic so abruptly seemed off to Harry. However, happy that she had dropped the issue, he gladly answered her question, leading to a conversation that spanned the rest of the journey.

He really _should_ have prodded at her sudden lack of interest in the little white lie of his...

‹‹‡››

Betcha thought the mystery girl was Hermione.

The chapter following this will not have the intro paragraph anymore. Instead, the only additions pre-chapters, apart from Author's Notes (which I want to limit to the end of the chaps if I can) will be cast calls for any choices I make. In this chapter, there is no cast cause I haven't decided whether I want to imagine a younger Chloe Moretz or a younger Millie Bobby Brown playing Sally.

Lemme know what you think.

Later.


	16. Friend

_**Ripple Effect**_

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **15- Friend**_

"Holy..." The swear that was on the tip of his tongue died out like a candle in a strong wind, such was the awe-inspiring majesty of the wonder they had just stepped into.

He had spent the entirety of the train ride and the carriage trip chatting with Sally, enjoying her presence more than any other, bar the three women he had come to respect. It had crossed his mind how odd it was that he had no male friends but, when he'd considered all that he had suffered at the hands of the male 'friends' he could have had, he found himself lacking nothing. As though their meeting had been fated, at no point during the journey had they been interrupted; no senior dropping by their carriage during the train ride, no fellow students asking for anything during the carriage ride... It had been a wonderful trip for both parties and they had not run out of things to say to each other...

Until now.

Neither of the quick-witted duo (for Sally-Anne had a wit every bit as sharp as his beneath that plain exterior of hers) ever even imagined that such a strange and splendid place existed. No, they hadn't even thought it could exist in a person's _dreams!_.

The hall was lit by thousands upon thousands of floating candles that danced in intricate yet lovely patterns over four long tables laden with glittering golden plates and goblets where the non-first year students were already seated.

At the furthest end of the hall from the doorway they had just filed through was another long table where the teachers were sitting, Harry absentmindedly noting the little wave Aurora- _Professor Sinistra,_ better not forget that- sent his way. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the dancing candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. His gawking grew even more pronounced when he looked up and he lightly elbowed his friend to get her attention as well. He didn't even care about the looks he was undoubtedly receiving at that moment; all of Funke's words had simply faded into the back of his mind by the absolute wonder he gazed upon.

"It's... Roofless?" He heard Sally whisper in confused awe as she took in the beautiful night sky. It almost felt like they could _feel_ the starlight!

It wasn't hard to believe there was no ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall simply opened up to the heavens.

"Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in _Hogwarts, A History_." A quiet voice answered from his left, finally breaking the spell the Hall had wrought over him. Glancing in her direction, Harry found himself faced, first, by a mass of untamed brown hair that framed an unassuming face. Catching her eyes, though, he could tell that this girl was more intelligent than she allowed herself to look.

And she was lonely.

Painfully so.

"Harry." He whispered gratefully. "Thanks for the tidbit. I'll have to go through that book sometime this week."

She glanced into his eyes for a few seconds as if wondering why he hadn't sniped at her for being some sort of a know-it-all. Then, when she couldn't detect any mockery in him, she nodded cautiously to him. "Hermione."

"Would you like to find somewhere to talk about the book?" He continued quietly, now doing his best not to call attention to himself. "I would like to compare notes with you sometime."

Her eyes narrowed again in suspicion before she relaxed a bit. "We'll see. They seem to be preparing for something."

Harry simply nodded. He knew when he was being dismissed and he couldn't blame her for her suspicions; he'd been the same when Jessica had first reached out to him after all.

To his right, he felt a slight pressure on his palm and, when he glanced in that direction, he caught Sally's slight smile.

She had observed everything that had just happened and she seemed to approve of his actions.

Harry knew that he certainly didn't need her approval yet that little smile and its connotations filled him with a greater sense of joy than the thought of a thousand Great Halls.

She would be a great friend, it seemed.


	17. Stepping Forward

_**Ripple Effect**_

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **16- Stepping Forward**_

 _For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth - and the hat began to sing..._

"What the actual fwah?!"

"Well on the bright side, the weird-awesomeness of the Hat balances out the glorious-awesomeness of the Hall." Harry quipped at his friend whose face was still locked in a rictus of disgusted awe upon seeing the Sorting Hat.

The raven haired girl jabbed him the side with her elbow. "Now you get your mouth back, mister-" Sally sucked in a deep breath before continuing in a very tinny voice, "holy...!"

It was his turn to dig into her side with his elbow, though he made sure it wouldn't be a painful strike for her. "I do _not_ sound like that."

"Can the two of you _**please**_ be quiet!" Hermione hissed through the corner of her mouth. "You'll draw the attention of the whole Hall on us!"

Harry, feeling a tad dangerous, scoffed at the claim, though not loudly. "Like they didn't do the same."

"Plus, the teachers are behind us and there are enough _other_ people talking so..."

"That gives us no excuse." The bushy haired brunette replied, though not as harshly as the first time. "Well, the Hat's done singing." She added as she joined in the rest of the school's applauding.

"Wonder what it said?" Harry asked teasingly, knowing that she would likely...

"You would know if you had listened."

... take the opportunity given and snipe at him.

"We'll wear the Hat and get sorted into one of the four houses." Sally filled in helpfully, like she hadn't been talking as much as he had. "You really should have listened."

The realization was a dash of icy water to Harry. "Wait. They'll call us out there?"

"Yup!"

He gulped. "Full names and everything?"

Sally seemed inordinately pleased when she nodded. "Now hush. It has begun."

For every name that was called, Harry felt a sickening dread grow in his belly. Over the past couple of hours, he had developed a bond with Sally that he found himself unwilling to break. Then, in the space of just _moments_ , he had grown used to Hermione as well. How would they react when they realized that the face they had been talking to was just a mask?

"Perks, Sally-Anne!"

When the plain looking girl heard her name, she turned to Harry, noting his slightly-ill look, and smiled. "See you later, zoo-boy."

Harry was _only_ _just_ able to stop himself from gaping.

She knew! Somehow, in some weird way, she knew it was him! And she didn't seem to care!

So elated was he that he actually missed McGonagall calling his name.

"Potter, Harry!"

It was the silence that clued him in to the fact that something was wrong. A slight glance back and he caught Aurora's eye. 'Well?' she seemed to ask without moving a single muscle.

"Potter, Harry?"

This time, murmurs rippled out of the student body and, knowing that he could not delay a single instant longer, he reached to his neck and snapped the thin silver band lying there.

‹‹‡››


	18. Sorting

_**Ripple Effect**_

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **17- Sorting**_

When the Hat descended upon his head, Harry didn't have a clue what would happen besides the fact that it would yell his name very loudly; he had no clue what the process would be like.

As such, he wasn't very surprised when he abruptly found himself in an unfurnished, plain looking room, standing behind a tall, skinny man dressed like a scarecrow, wearing the Hat and muttering quietly.

"Excuse me?" He called politely, not wanting to startle the entity that he guessed was a representation of the Hat should it turn around.

"Well I'll be... You're the third one tonight with such a level of awareness, Master Potter." The Hat stated as it turned around. "That's an impressive number for peaceful times such as these."

The entity, Harry saw, was headless, the Hat simply hovering above a void where a head should have been. The rear flap of the Hat had drooped down, concealing the back of its 'head' and keeping this little fact hidden.

The entity sketched a short bow. "I'm certain you've already figured it out but, you know, pleasantries and all. I'm the Sorting Hat, though you can call me 'Hat' or, if you want a laugh, 'Raggedy'."

Harry smiled at the Hat and returned the gesture. "Harry Potter, Mister Hat."

"So Master Potter, any questions?" The Hat asked knowingly before speaking again. "You do have questions. Let's see here; where are we, how does this work, what are the Houses truly like, good question that, and now... Are you reading my mind? Did I miss anything?"

As each question was being uttered by the Hat, Harry's frown dissipated, leaving only a stern look. "No you didn't. May I have answers?"

The Hat raised both hands in a gesture of peace. "I'll try to settle your fears first, Master Potter. To begin with, we are in your mind, more precisely, we are in the nexus of your being. Everything you are, have been and have experienced... From here, I can access it all. It's a scary thought isn't it, knowing that I can access all that makes you... You.

"Fortunately, there's a tightly wound Hat-student geas placed on me to ensure that I can't tell _**anyone**_ _anything_ that you haven't permitted me to say; barring your Hogwarts House, of course. And believe me, there's virtually no way anyone, past, present, perhaps even _future_ could crack that geas open. It's connected to and powered by the power of nature itself. You'd have to utterly destroy nature to get those geas to unravel and doing so renders the reward pointless anyhow."

"I'm certain people with great ambition and sufficient reason to do so could." Harry replied sternly.

"And you're one of the few with that kind of laser focused ambition." The Hat shrugged. "Combined with that terrifying Ravenclaw intellect and that Slytherin cunning... Well, you could do it if you had to."

"What do you know about me?"

"Everything." The Hat shrugged. "That's why I always appear at the nexus of minds; so I can judge by the experiences that have shaped you and by the characteristics you possess which House you'd best fit into." The Hat shrugged again.

Harry still seemed skeptical. "And have you decided yet?"

The Hat shook its head. "You're one of the tougher ones. As I've said, you've got the defining characteristics of the two Founders I've already mentioned but you have near-equal parts of the other two as well; Gryffindor's courage and Hufflepuff loyalty."

Harry frowned as he pieced things together. "It doesn't make sense though; no human is a mass of singular ideals, we have them all; intellect, cunning, courage and loyalty. You can't simply pick one feature out and use it to judge. Conversely, if you _are_ simply stripping students to singular ideals then four houses isn't nearly enough. How about love? Fear? Anger? Greed? Those aren't quite ideals on their own but they are the the emotional foundations for them."

The Hat threw its 'head' back and a booming laugh echoed through the cabin. "You, Master Potter are one of the very few to have ever challenged me on this! And surprisingly enough, you're only the second today!" The Hat continued its chortles for a while until the laughs finally died out and, placing a hand on the young boy's head, it ruffled the boy's dark hair. "Don't lose this inquisitive nature alright? It may just be the thing to save you someday.

"Now then, on to the subject: why value those four ideals over others? Well, Master Potter, the ideals I try to sort students by were the ideals the very Founders of Hogwarts saw as the ideal they valued most; the Lady Rowena Ravenclaw sought out only the brightest, seeing their intellect as what the magical community needed to grow; Lord Salazar Slytherin, whose intentions are almost universally miscontrued, sought the cunning, deeming them the ones to conceal the magical community from the ever growing scourge of the non-magical human world; Lord Godric Gryffindor saw courage and the willingness to go over and above the call of duty as the ideal that would protect the wizarding world and finally Lady Helga Hufflepuff who saw hard work and loyalty as the greatest ideals of all.

"It's quite interesting, you see, as the Founders themselves knew that humans couldn't purely be sorted by ideals but they felt that by keeping like minds together and promoting interactions between houses, things would be alright with the world."

Harry arched an eyebrow. "I know I'm new here but things don't seem very 'alright'."

"They'll get back, Master Potter, things will get back to being alright." The Hat said reassuringly. "Now, while I am leaning toward a decision, I have a question for you: which of the Founders' ideals do you think is the most dangerous?"

Harry found himself frowning. The Hat's question didn't make much sense; if the conditions were right, each ideal could be the cause of devastating events. So why... The dark haired boy shook his head a bit. 'For all intents and purposes, the Hat is an alien to me; I can't understand its core reasoning processes so asking myself why it would do anything is currently irrelevant. Better to just focus on answering the question...'

"Each of those ideals are dangerous on their own and are capable of bringing about devastation." Harry began slowly. "Neither cunning nor intellect require too great an explanation as it is well documented that most acts of evil were perpetuated by people of great intellect or great cunning. Bravery is dangerous on its own as courage often pushes one to rise above their own limitations to succeed. However, I believe the answer you are looking for, Sorting Hat, is the Lady Hufflepuff's choice: loyalty."

The Hat tilted over to one side, imitating the act of cocking one's head. "Do you mind explaining that?"

Harry shrugged. "It's quite simple, really. All the other ideals are dangerous in and of themselves but loyalty takes things to another level. The other ideals work well for individuals of great power but with loyalty attaining a goal becomes the desire of the group, not just a single person. It is the underlying principle that cunning tyrants never realize when they kill off the leaders off their opposition, the death of one spurs on the others to see the goal to completion. Martyrs are just leaders that have built up devoutly loyal followers."

The Hat crossed its hands on its chest. "An interesting way to see it, I must admit, but the underlying truth remains the same. You're quite right, Master Potter; where her friends sought the brilliant, the brave and the cunning, Lady Hufflepuff sought out the loyal and you, Master Potter, are one of them."


	19. Reactions

_**Ripple Effect**_

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **18- Reactions**_

When Minerva McGonagall first called out the words, it had taken her a few moments to realize that the hushed silence from the students wasn't due to the fact that the Saviour of the Wizarding World (or at least Wizarding _Britain_ ) was walking toward her; in fact, it was the opposite.

Harry Potter was nowhere in sight, so it seemed.

And so, before things descended into absolute chaos, she had called out again.

Still no sign of the signature untamed black hair that nearly all of the Wizarding Community had come to see as a Potter trait.

Exchanging a glance with the Headmaster showed that Albus was just as confused as she was, perhaps even as _alarmed_ as she was too…

Then, the student body exploded into whispers and hushed comments with all the frenzied energy of a shoal of piranhas.

Naturally, decades of teaching experience had granted her the ability to identify trouble spots within moments and this case was no different.

It had stunned her, thus, to see the redheaded boy she had noted for being a potential troublemaker striding forward confidently, a thin silver chain held loosely in his grasp. Right before her eyes, the boy's features bled away and were replaced by features she had recognized instantly.

The young man striding toward her to be Sorted was, without the slightest shadow of doubt, _Lily's_ son.

Oh she knew all about possible fakes using polyjuice or powerful disguise charms but, through all the attempts on the Potter fame that Gringotts had recorded, she had never once even _thought_ that any of the impostors might be Harry.

They had all modified the Polyjuice Potions with various de-aging elements to look just like a young James Potter but they had never actually _seen_ Harry Potter; never looked into his eyes.

The boy, even as a baby, had _always_ had _Lily's_ eyes.

The same eyes that stared into hers a moment before he sat on the stool.

It took every ounce of occlumentic skill to perfectly maintain her usual, stern features as she lifted the Hat and placed it on his head.

The assisstant headmistress' mind was whirling with so many thoughts order was the furthest thing from her mind.

'Lily's boy is here!'

'Why did he look so different until a few moments ago?'

'Anchored disguise and concealment charms, obviously on the chain he yanked off his neck, but where did he get that from?'

'And why?'

'I wonder what House he'll be in? Likely Gryffindor, though, like his pa-'

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

That announcement all but shattered Hogwarts.

For those of Rowena Ravenclaw's House, it seemed a bit of an anomaly; from the second years upwards, they had all heard of the Saviour of Wizarding Britain and his prestigious family whose firstborn, particularly the males, had been Sorted into the House of Lions.

For the Salazar Slytherin's children, it was a sign that the young Potter scion would likely amount to nothing, never mind the fact that he had just demonstrated, at the very least, a knowledge of high-end disguise methods. After all, what great world shaker had ever come from the 'Servant's House'?

Those of the Golden Lion were stunned, none more so than their very own Head of House. A Potter that wasn't in their House? More than that, _**THE**_ Potter was **NOT** in _their_ House?!

The greatest reaction, though, came from the House of the Diligent Badgers.

Suffice it to say that it took Dumbledore a minute of letting out repeated pleas for silence with a _very_ **loud** _Sonorous_ charm to quiet them down.

Absently, Minerva wondered just how they hadn't brought the bloody roof down, they were so loud!

Between the raucous celebration and the shock factor of the announcement, no one noticed the expressions that crossed four faces…

On one, a feeling of amused contentment blossomed, expressed by a seemingly beatific smile and light clapping.

On the second, an odd look of anguished longing and utter disgust.

On the third, a pair of bright eyes behind their famous half-moon spectacles flashed with surprise, the feeling gone so quickly that, had anyone seen it, they would simply consider it a figment of their own imagination…

‹‹‡››

Why thank you _Obsessed, Cassandra,_ I enjoyed your review and, Obsessed, I enjoyed writing that probably as much as you enjoyed reading it.

Anyway.

Harry's in Hufflepuff as is Sally-Anne.

I wonder about little miss bookworm?

Also:

No, I did not make a mistake up there. Four faces **DID** react.

Now…

Let's play a game… it's called…

Guess Who?

[PS: As regards chapter length; while Cass (can I call you Cass?) is right in her belief that I'm making the chapters focus on events individually, that's only a part of the reason.

Part 2: I'm following this little [but absolutely amazing] fic titled _**Ablaze.**_ It's absolutely bril and it was the major inspiration for this story's chapter length _**at the moment.**_ I might change things later on, make the chapters longer but for now… I'm sticking with this format.

Part 3: This fic, while updated regularly (compared to the more infrequent _**A New Life**_ and the near stagnant others] is **NOT** my major work. That's currently **ANL** and I hope to bring back some of my other content back too. This story is more like a valve, a release valve to be precise. Helps me take the pressure off by giving me something I'm writing for fun as opposed to the slightly more serious other fics.]


	20. Camaraderie

_**Ripple Effect**_

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **19- Camaraderie**_

Journal Entry #37

 _Camaraderie._

 _-Close friendship in a group of friends or_ _ **teammates.**_

 _-A spirit of familiarity and_ _ **closeness.**_

 _Those are the two definitions I_ _'m putting in here so I don't keep writing a bunch of words that go on and on._

 _For the first time in my life, I know what camaraderie feels like._

 _It's the beaming smile I receive from the woman I will come to know as Professor Sprout, her entire face radiant from the staff table._

 _It's in the huge smiles I received as I got off the Sorting stool and in the thunderous cheer the whole table erupted into as I walked up to them._

 _It's the friendly grins and playful bumps I'm graced with as I walk down the space between tables, the happy seat offers as I move further away from the head of the table._

 _Camaraderie is Hufflepuff's welcome mat._

 _Lady Helga would be proud of her House._

‹‹‡››

The warm glow Harry felt from the resounding welcome the members of House Hufflepuff had shown him turned into a ball of ice the instant his eyes connected with hers.

In his shock at realizing that she had recognized him through his disguise, Harry hadn't heard the House Sally had been sorted into and so, staring into her eyes after hearing her offer him a place by her side, he felt like a mouse before a hawk.

"I'm not going to eat you, Zoo Boy." Sally smiled teasingly as she scooted over to create space for him. "Besides, it looks like we're about to hear an important announcement."

Harry basically thumped into the space provided, absently giving and unsolicited apology, to the person he had bumped into as he sat. His attention was entirely on his friend, whatever the announcement was, it could be heard via the student grapevine. "So- wait, how-?" The words were as jumbled up in his mouth as they were in his head; he couldn't figure out if he was happy that she'd seen through his disguise or shocked at the fact or even confused by the fact that, against everything Funke had pumped into his head, now that his friend knew his actual identity, she basically didn't give a rat's ass.

He just didn't _get it._

Sally-Anne did.

Plain as she seemed, average as she might have been in her studies, for some reason, the young girl simply understood the boy with the lonely eyes from the zoo.

Harry needed a friend; she seemed to fit the bill.

So, with a merry grin, she shifted just a bit closer to him, enough to be _just_ comfortable, and said, "Does it really matter? Just be happy that I'm not mad at you- Oh!" Her focus shifted as the carefully laid out dishes were filled with every delicacy the mind could think up. Hearing the upsurge of noise and general rambunctiousness around, she determined that the dinner bell had been rung and, with a glance around, ascertained that it was a buffet so she reached out for a platter of steaming pork pie and pulled it close. "Want some?"

The block on his tongue seemed to finally dislodge itself and, with a tentative grin, he reached out for a fork. "If you'll don't mind… ?"

Sally beamed back and stabbed the savory dish with her fork. "Let's eat!"

‹‹‡››

 _Camaraderie. And friendship._

 _I'll love it here._


	21. Malfoy

_**Ripple Effect**_

 _ **Chapter 20**_

 _ **Malfoy**_

It was the last day of the orientation week for the first years; a typical school-tradition sort of week that had involved some of the staff taking them around and explaining some of the broader aspects of magic to them.

That morning, Harry had woken up to the bustle of Ernie Macmillan and the other first year Hufflepuffs as they left the room to have breakfast. The guys in his room were among the very first students in the school to come to the realization that he was just another guy, albeit a massively popular guy. It helped that most of them had little connection to the magical community prior to Hogwarts and as such didn't share the others' opinion of him.

Not feeling as hungry as he probably should have considering how he had stayed up with Hermione and Sally going over a topic in transfiguration, the dark haired boy had taken his time with his hygiene rites and, after dressing up, picked the transfiguration textbook and walked down the stairs. There, he found Sally seated in one of the beanbags that littered the floor of the common room, her nose stuck between the pages of her own textbook. After a quiet exchange of greetings, he had settled into the closest bag and continued his reading until their stomachs grumbled at the lack of sustenance.

"You know, I'm still not sure which is better," Harry said between bites of his buttered croissant, "Hogwarts' food or its general ambience."

"That's a very debatable topic." Sally paused and cocked her head. "The food is very nice, obviously the work of experts but I think the ambience makes it that much better."

"So you're saying ambience tops out food?"

"I know a gluttons would disagree but yeah." The brown haired girl shrugged before a glimmer of movement caught her eye. "Ugh, looks like that ambience is about to turn sour." She jerked her head in the direction of the movement that had caught her eye, prompting Harry to turn toward the source.

It didn't strike him as a surprise that, at the center of it all, was Draco Malfoy.

In the six days that they spent in Hogwarts, the Slytherin student had quickly risen to a level of infamy amongst the other houses that rivaled Harry's own popularity, with euphemisms like 'Pompous-git' and 'Daddy's little prat' already being bandied about behind his back. Harry found it difficult to blame the name-callers; Draco was every bit as arrogant, obnoxious and dependent on his father's influence as the names implied. The blond boy, it seemed, couldn't fight any of his battles on his own, with every argument ending in one variation of 'I'll tell my dad!' or the other.

The truly unfortunate thing, Harry thought to himself, was that he needed the blond prat. If everything Funmi had said was even remotely correct (and he hadn't given him reason to doubt her yet), then in the future, Draco Malfoy would be, potentially, as much of a decision-maker as Harry himself.

Harry needed to foster, if not an outright friendship or alliance, a relationship based on respect with the Malfoy heir.

He really hoped that wouldn't end up being the tall order he expected it to be.

"Um, Zoo-boy? You've got that look again." Sally's warning returned him to the present. "What are you about to do?"

"I've got to build at the very least, a neutral relationship with Malfoy." Harry murmured as he set his utensils down. "I'll be back."

And, with those final words, he strode toward the center of the sparsely populated Great Hall, where the Malfoy stood, belittling a shortish, chubby-faced boy.

"…are a disgrace Longbottom!" Malfoy sneered, his voice carrying across to most of the Great Hall's occupants. "Always snivelling-"

"Hi there!" Harry cut in before any more could be said. "You're Draco Malfoy right?"

The boy in question turned toward him, a sneer already curling his upper lip, only to stutter into silence when he noticed Harry Potter standing a few feet away, hand outstretched. "Potter." The word fell out clumsily but if the scion of house Potter noticed it, he didn't give a hint.

"Yeah. Good to see you." Harry grabbed the boy's hand and pumped it twice before maneuvering to stand between the Longbottom boy and Draco. "I've been meaning to see you for a while now but our paths haven't really crossed have they?"

"N-no, they haven't." Draco stuttered before mentally shaking his head. The Potter heir had caught him off guard, sneaking up behind him while he dressed down the Longbottom heir but that was no reason to be thrown so far off. "I'm glad to see that you're not like the rest of the sheep in this castle if you understand me."

Harry had a fair idea what the blond meant and so he decided to gamble on the chance. "My guardian taught me to always judge people on their own merits and demerits, not on the ill reputation of their families."

"Sounds like a wise person."

Funmi's efforts during the summer paid off there as Harry recognized the probe for what it was: an inquiry into the gender of his mysterious guardian, so he responded as vaguely as possible. "Indeed." Seeking a change of topic, Harry adjusted slightly, bringing the boy behind him back into Malfoy's line of sight. "And who's this? A friend of yours?"

Malfoy's lip curled almost instinctively. "That's Neville, heir of House Longbottom; bit of a-"

Whatever insult Draco planned on whispering to Harry, the scion of House Potter deflected it by turning to the heir of the Longbottom house and shaking his hand very politely; a stark contrast to the almost-rude pumping of the Malfoy heir's arm earlier. "I've heard of the Longbottom house! Your greenhouses are some of the most outstanding in the global magical community."

Only Septima Vector and the two Ravenclaw Sixth-Years in the Hall caught the subtle shade Harry had just thrown at Draco and all three grinned at the inside joke.

Neville, however, was too stunned by the fact that _Harry Potter_ was speaking to him and was stiff as a board.

Catching on to the boy's plight, Harry turned to Draco and grinned at him. "Mind if I have Neville join us? I don't think he's eaten yet, considering how pale he is, and I've got my breakfast out."

Having no interest in sitting around the same table as Longbottom, the Malfoy heir shrugged and turned to walk away. "See you around Potter."

"Same Malfoy."

It wasn't the beginning of a friendship in any guise, but it certainly wasn't the beginning of an enmity either and for Harry, that was enough.


	22. Transfiguration

_**Ripple Effect**_

 _ **Chapter 21**_

 _ **Transfiguration**_

"Good morning Professor."

"Good morning class." Minerva McGonagall smiled as she walked into her class; the first of may more to come, now that the First Years' orientation week had ended. It was a wonderful feeling for a woman who had known all her life that she would end up teaching to walk into a class filled with bright-eyed young ones, eager to learn, especially considering that her class this morning consisted of the two least troublesome classes. "And welcome to Transfiguration." As she reached the front of the class, the dusty old cloth that covered the board jumped off, of its own volition, it seemed, and twisted until it became a rope that tied itself into a form that spelt out 'Transfiguration' at which point it shifted again, going from rope to a hovering, metal brand.

The sounds of muted awe that rang out behind her as she seemingly bustled round her table brought a small smile to her face. More than either Gryffindor or Slytherin, both of which tended to have higher proportions of pureblood and knowledgeable students, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tended to have most of the muggle students in their ranks and so her little bit of timed spellwork which might have seemed a tad overdone to the Green and Gold was perfectly welcome here.

Drawing out her wand, she turned to begin her lecture for the day even as the metal brand slowly cycled through various forms as a little visual reminder for the students.

"Transfiguration. The magic of taking an object, understanding its form and features, and essentially making it into another object for a period of time.

Unlike a number of other magics, transfiguration is a mental magic and often requires little to no fancy wand-work or spells. A powerful imagination, backed up by sufficient intent and enough power will produce the necessary results." She stopped, her hands coming to rest gently by her side as the cycling objects over her finally returned to their original form and floated over to rest on a table. "That is all. Any questions?"

It took the students a few moments to realize that she meant that her lecture was over and she was open for questions but when they did…

"Yes? Miss Chang I presume?" She asked the smallish looking Asian whose hand was the first to shoot up.

"Yes Professor." The young girl shot to her feet, proud to display her Ravenclaw badge. "Um… you said that transfiguration is a mental magic. Do you mean our brains will get tired before our bodies?"

"An excellent question Miss Chang, please sit down." Minerva smiled at the young girl. "When I spoke of Transfiguration as a mental magic I did not mean that it would tire your brains to a greater degree than your bodies, no. It will _tax_ your minds, yes, but more due to its nature as a magic.

"Some of you will go on to be powerful duelists and skilled Aurors, often utilizing Charms in your offensive and defensive repertoires. The thing is, many Charms can be committed to memory and bandied about in rote patterns.

"To utilize Transfiguration, however, is to turn one object into another to serve a purpose. And if you do not understand the object you wish to transform something into, it may very well not serve the purpose you desire very well."

The aged professor's eyes swept the classroom, checking the general buzz of the classroom to see if they understood her [and seeking any potential troublemakers]. When she sensed that they understood, she gestured with her wand and boxes of matchsticks began a slow procession through the class, parting at each intersection in such a way that each student had one box to himself.

"And so we arrive at today's activity: you will attempt to turn at least one of these matchsticks into a needle."

A wave of murmurs slowly spread as the students wondered how they were to be expected to complete such an activity with such little explanation.

Minerva took no notice of that, however, focused as she was on the trio of students that had huddled closer around their boxes, talking quietly. Activating a hint of her Animagus abilities, she changed the internal structure of her ear into that of her feline form to listen in.

"... a needle. If we can study one, get a clear picture of it in our heads, we should have a leg up on the transfiguration." The bushy haired Ravenclaw stated, drawing nods from the other two.

"I've got a needle on me." The mousy Hufflepuff produced the required item. "Old habits from… old habits. But how do we go about the transfiguring?"

"The Professor already told us: magical intent gives strength to the image provided by imagination and then we just channel our magic while keeping the intended image in our head." The boy answered easily. "I'm pretty sure that's what she meant by it being a 'mental magic'."

"I'm quite certain the fact that we completed the first chapter of _A Beginner's Guide_ didn't help at all." The Ravenclaw teased.

"You just had to ruin my moment Hermione." The boy sighed as he collected the needle. "I suppose I'll have to start."

With the conversation drawing to a close and actual work beginning, Minerva cut off the Animagus transformation and resumed her sweep of the class, though her mind was racing.

'It seems Harry Potter has found himself a pair of friends,' she thought as she watched a pair of Ravenclaw's attempt at adding in a bit of wand movement to help their transfiguration along, 'good ones too, none of the rascally sort his father seemed to gather on his very first day.'

It was an interesting thing, to say the least, to watch the son, who so closely resembled his father, begin his life in the magical community with choices that seemed opposite to his fathers': a pair of girls, the two newcomers to the world of magic as opposed his father's trio of knowledgeable boys including an heir of a family about as well known as his; a serious approach to his studies as opposed to his father's more lackadaisical and mischievous approach.

'It'll be an interesting thing, watching him grow.' McGonagall decided as she walked past and noticed that the mousy Hufflepuff beside Harry seemed to have gone the furthest; her current matchstick had attained a rough shape of a needle, though it lacked an eye and was still wooden. 'It will be very interesting indeed.'


	23. Old Habits

_**Ripple Effect**_

 _ **Chapter 22**_

 _ **Old Habits**_

"I still think we could have done better." Hermione huffed as she hitched her bag a bit higher up onto her back. "I mean, we already had the physical features down and-"

"Hermione!" Harry cut in as he interlocked his fingers behind his head, giving off a very relaxed air. "We earned three points -each- for our efforts today. That's two higher than every other student who _did_ earn house points."

"Of which there were only two." Sally added, her voice a bit muffled. Of the three of them, she drew the most attention as she fought with the large map she had obtained… somewhere… seeking the nearest stairway that would take them to their next class. "Besides, it isn't like we could some how just peer into the needle to figure out its internal structure."

Harry jabbed a finger at his fellow Badger. "Exactly. We're still new to this system so we should take the time to learn the ropes."

Hermione seemed to grow ill as a flight of stairs whooshed about two feet over their heads and paused at a faucet set in the wall complete with its own wash bowl. "Gimme a moment guys."

"Sure." Harry gently nudged Sally so she wouldn't walk off and they stood a few feet away. "Just hurry up; I hear that the Potions professor is pretty strict."

The bushy haired brunette held up a finger as she dunked her head.

As they waited in amicable silence, Harry remembered something and turned to Sally. "Hey Sally?"

"Hold on, I think I've got a path." was the muffled reply, prompting Harry to prod her forehead until she looked up, irritated. "What?"

"Back in class; during Transfiguration, when you pulled out the needle, you said it was an old habit before breaking off."

Immediately, her eyes widened and Harry saw a flash of fear in her eyes as she suddenly grew tense. She seemed like she wanted to bolt until he placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her.

"Then again, I may have been reading too much into it." He saw every emotion flash through her eyes; the fear, the worry, the confusion and then, finally, understanding and gratitude.

"Yeah…" She cleared her throat. "Yeah, it was nothing. Just… old habits."

The sound of Hermione's groan snapped them out of the moment and they glanced at their friend whose face now glistened with droplets of water.

"We can go now." She breathed as she wiped her hands on her robes. "The stairs just freak me out sometimes."

The two Badgers shared a final glance before Sally took the lead…

Leading them into the Dungeons…

 **Didn't feel like putting the next chap together with this hence the incredibly short length.**

 **Next one's a bit longer though.**


	24. Snape

_**Ripple Effect**_

 _ **Chapter 23**_

 _ **Snape**_

Harry _knew_ he was in trouble the instant his eyes connected with the professor's.

He was a firm believer in the saying 'the eyes are a window to the soul' as he had seen proof to verify it; the Dursleys seemed like decent -perhaps a tad selfish but decent- until they looked at him and then their eyes simply _blazed_ with disgust. Vernon's sister, Marge, had beady little eyes that spoke of her utter disdain and contempt for anything she didn't approve of. Jessica's eyes were what drew him to her in the first place; they were always filled with love.

Even the Gringotts goblins were no different; they were motivated by their own interests but would stand by their word unless betrayed.

Professor Severus Snape's eyes were yawing voids that spoke of burning hatred and a desire to see him fail.

"Oh bugger."

Both Sally and Hermione, seated on either side of him [Hermione was in the next row, seated with a red haired Hufflepuff girl], turned to him with puzzled looks on their faces.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking." He began, his tone barely more than a whisper, yet carrying to the ends of the class. Unlike their Transfiguration teacher, who used her magic to keep her students' focus, Snape relied on his sheer physical presence.

It hadn't failed him yet.

"As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death -if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Harry didn't have to look to know that Hermione was practically _vibrating_ with the need to prove herself. The mental image made him chuckle quietly. _That girl… honestly-_

"Potter." The silky way the man had pronounced his name had Harry sitting upright in a flash.

 _Here it comes…_

"What would I get, Master Potter, if I were to add powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

If the tension wasn't so thick, Harry knew he'd have gaped. Powdered what to an infusion of _what_ wood?! That question was an OWL question! He knew because he'd casually flipped to the OWL section of _Magical Drafts and Potions_ and had scampered back to the beginning when he'd seen some of the things he'd be expected to brew!

Snape's taunting smile seemed to grow even more condescending. "I take it you have no clue-"

"Sorry, Professor, I needed a moment to recollect." That wiped the smirk off the man's features. "Powdered asphodel added to an infusion of wormwood acts as the base for what is generally thought to be the most powerful sleeping potion: the Draught of Living Death."

The tension in the room grew exponentially yet, paradoxically, Snape's smile seemed to have come back with _even more_ condescension.

"I'm glad to see that you're not quite the dunderhead, Master Potter. Perhaps, in fact, you deserve the fame you've been receiving. If I might ask, where would you look if I were to ask you to find me a bezoar?"

Harry was stumped; he knew it and, more importantly, _Snape knew it as well._ There was no getting out of this one.

Gritting his teeth tightly, he managed to grate out the words his professor had been dying to hear. "I don't know, Professor."

Snape frowned. "You don't? Perhaps that was a bit too basic for celebrity of your stature; tell me, Master Potter, what the difference is between wolfsbane and monkshood."

At this point, Harry caught a glimpse of Hermione's hand shooting up high and waving frantically and he almost smiled, his spirit lightened by her antics. "I don't know, Professor but I am certain that you'll do your very best to have me understand the difference."

Harry immediately realized that he'd just said the _wrong_ thing.

It began with a light tickling sensation in the back of his head, a sensation that grew more and more insistent until it became a constant prickling like needles jabbing into his mind continuously.

" _ **If you ever feel like you're getting stabbed in the brain with a million needles you should look out: chances are that someone's trying to get past your occlumentic barriers."**_

The speed at which Harry snapped his gaze to the side caught most of his classmates off guard as they wondered what had just happened.

Harry, however, was breathing hard, trying to rein in his fury.

Snape had just tried to read his mind.

 _His professor had,_ _ **in violation of Hogwarts law**_ _, tried to read his mind!_

A host of thoughts sped through his mind at dizzying speeds, each discarded as soon as it came up as not being painful enough for the greasy looking bastard in front of him.

It took the feeling of someone insistently pinching his thigh to draw him out of his murderous thoughts and he turned his rage filled glare over to see Sally shaking her head quietly.

Slowly, the rage drained away like water in a basket and clarity returned to his thoughts.

The first thing he needed to do was to get a letter of thanks across to Lady Sinistra; it was her lessons and advice on occlumency that had helped him snap the connection the bastard was trying to tunnel into his mind. The next thing, however, was to talk to Aurora.

Now that his thoughts were clearer, he realized that he likely couldn't pull off whatever thoughts had manifested in his mind as the man was stronger and likely had a few connections that would protect him from students' accusations. Aurora might know how to circumvent the second but, more importantly, she'd know where and how to hit him and make it _hurt._

In the time it had taken him to clear his mind and come up with a clear line of action, Snape had recovered from the shock of being forced out of the boy's mind ad regained his condescending demeanour.

"Put your had down, Miss Granger, the question was not a general one. As for you, _Master Potter,_ I suppose I was wrong; you're just as bad as every _other_ celebrity we've had around here. Congratulations, you've earned Hufflepuff a loss of five points for that show of… let's call it cheek." With a swish of his robes, he returned to his desk. "Now, let's begin the day's activities and not dawdle on _failed -_ forgive me- _famed_ members of the class shall we?"

"Let it go, Harry." Sally murmured as she pulled out her roll of parchment and her quill. "He's not worth it."

Harry listened to her and brought out his own writing materials as the man lectured on proper potion-brewing etiquette.

He would let it go.

For now.


	25. Recap

**_Ripple Effect_**

 ** _Chapter 24_**

 ** _Recap_**

For most people, abruptly walking into a corridor and being thrust into pitch darkness would have been very disorienting and not a little frightened.

Harry simply found himself, the first time in his memory, _thanking_ Vernon for locking him in that dark, musty cupboard.

Most children his age would have felt absolute terror to be in such absolute darkness but it amounted to a very mild bother to him, a bother that was completely removed when he drew his wand.

" _Lumos."_

The light that shone forth from his wand wasn't particularly bright but it served his purposes well, illuminating about a foot of space all around him.

Nothing seemed to have changed; he was clearly still within the castle if the suit of armor he could see meant anything and the ground didn't feel any different.

'So, a test?' He wondered as he carefully moved past the suit till he felt the rough surface of the wall beneath his fingers. 'Likely. No other reason to pull this on a simple visit. Though I have to wonder how she knew I was coming. Maybe her very own crystal ball?' He chuckled to himself at the thought, remembering how affronted Dame Sinistra had seemed when Jess brought it up. Apparently, only the worst sort of charlatan resorted to such parlor tricks.

His thoughts came to a screeching halt when he heard an eerie moan echo through the hallway and he had to bite back the urge to increase the intensity of the light.

Instead, he cast a quiet 'nox' to cancel out the light and plunged himself into the darkness, straining to hear clearly.

The sound seemed to bounce off every wall around him, playing havoc with his sense of hearing but, after a few more moments, he was able to pinpoint the source: it was coming from somewhere behind him.

'Going for fantasy over realism, Miss Sinistra?' He thought as he quietly crept down the hallway, using the wall to keep track. 'Not bad. Not bad at all.'

It took him quite a while to locate her door as, with the lights out, he had to rely solely on his single memory of the location. Finally, though, he reached a door he was certain was hers and cast another lumos-nox combination to verify. That done, he traced along the door to find her lock and swiftly cast the unlocking charm to grant himself entry.

"So… I take it your week has been… enlightening?" Aurora's smile was the textbook definition of mischievous as she calmly took a sip of her tea, her dark eyes flashing with mirth.

"It's been… well, for the most part, it's been fun." Harry replied as he walked up to her desk, a smile of his own playing at his mouth. "Well, until a certain _someone_ decided to throw me a pop quiz." He added as he sat beside her. "You know, I would never have shown up if I'd known that I'd be spending the last few hours before bedtime on a Sunday attending a class."

"Hence my keeping mum on it." She replied glibly. "Besides, I had to know if you were keeping up with class _somehow._ " She added, gesturing for him to grab whatever snack he fancied. "What better way than a pop quiz?"

"Remind me not to take whatever classes you teach." Harry groused as he nicked a saucer of Danish cookies.

"Bit too late for that don't you think?"

The two laughed at that before descending into a comfortable silence.

"So, how have classes been?"

"Pretty fun, actually." Harry replied enthusiastically. "Charms were a blast, especially when we first got to the Aguamenti and Susan drenched Chadley on her first try."

"I heard about that one. The other Ravens took it as an act of war and opened fire on you guys right?"

Harry nodded. "Of course, things went sideways when Professor Flitwick hit both Ernie and Cho with a wind blast and we all declared a truce so we could get back at him."

"Yeah, you guys _definitely_ had a blast."

"Yeah, Charms definitely took a firm seat as a lot of people's fave subject after that." Harry laughed. "Though I think I'm a bit partial to Transfiguration and Defense."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Really? I mean, Transfig I can understand; Professor McGonagall's got a way of teaching that just ropes you in but Defense?"

"Yeah I got that from Sally too." He admitted. "But Defense's really fun though… like a 'practical application to everything you've been taught' class. And Professor Quirrell's pretty good at teaching. Sure, he's timid and a bit of a stammerer but… I dunno, to teach Defense he'd have to actually have experience fighting off the Dark Arts right? And, well, the 'Dark Arts' don't exactly sound like the kind of stuff one gets into without experiencing _some_ form of trauma."

Aurora certainly agreed; Funke had knocked that bit of knowledge into her head _very_ thoroughly when she had expressed an interest in a number of rites that were firmly in the 'Dark' category.

"Anyway," Harry continued, "however bad he might actually be, he's still orders of magnitude better than Snape."

The Astronomy teacher had to smile ruefully upon hearing that. "He's still an overly judgemental asshat?"

"Add in the fact that he utterly despises my very existence and you're bang on the money." He frowned, the seriousness in his tone drawing equal response from her. "He tried reading my mind in our first class."

That brought her up short and her voice, when she spoke up, was icy. "He did _what_?"

"I mean it. He tried to dress me down in class by asking some really advanced questions and I tried to shift attention away from myself. Next thing I know is that my mind's tingling in all the wrong ways."

'He practiced legilimency on a minor without due cause or approved consent? I'd heard that he hated James Potter but shouldn't he be able to see past that?'

"-I mean, he's an ass to everyone else but he really seems to have it out for me."

"He does." She admitted quietly, drawing his attention. "He has it out for you Harry and I know why. However, I'm not going to tell you why. Not yet."

"Why?"

"Because I want to give him a chance." She sighed. "He's blinded by hatred right now so I want to talk to him, see if I can get through to him. He doesn't have to stop acting like an ass because Morgana forbid him acting human, but…" She sighed again. "Just let me try first, okay? If he hasn't changed within two weeks I'll tell you why he hates you so much."


	26. Confrontation

_**Ripple Effect**_

 _ **Chapter 25**_

 _ **Confrontation**_

Aurora watched as Severus walked out of his quarters, a dark pouch slung by his side, headed to the Greenhouses for some restocking.

It was just over a fortnight since her promise to Harry and she had spent that time covertly watching Snape to find the best time to talk to him.

It was as good a time as any, she decided, walking out of the Hall at a brisk pace to intercept him on one of the more secluded paths he seemed to prefer.

"Professor Snape." She called as fell into step a few feet behind him. Being the youngest member of the Academic Staff, she tended to refer to the others formally unless they chose otherwise. "Professor, may I have a moment of your time?"

She could see it in the set of his shoulders and the forcefully neutral look he bore; she was bothering him.

"Aurora, I do hope this does not take too long." He said as he turned fully to face her. "I have a batch of potions to attend to and I need to pick up a few things from Pomona to continue them."

"It'll take as long as is required." She replied neutrally. "A student came to me with a complaint."

This drew an arched eyebrow from the Potions Master. "They didn't go to their House Master? Odd; I don't recall _you_ having any Students' Matters duties."

"I don't." She agreed, allowing the subtle insult to slide for the moment. " _I_ don't recall that one needed a post within the Students' Matters department for students to come to one with complaints."

"Go on."

"Thank you. The student in question came to me wondering why you seemed to have it out for them."

A sudden, frosty demeanour came over Snape like a cloak. "Explain."

After years of dealing with her grandmother's legendarily glacial anger, the change didn't faze Aurora in the slightest. "According to the student, a first year, you would often pick him out to ask OWL or NEWT level questions. Where his mates would make some truly egregious mistakes in their potions making, you would find fault with something as trivial as his wrist movement during a stirring process and berate him publicly."

"Of course." He sneered in disgust. "Trust a _Potter_ to run to the nearest sympathetic fool when they feel uncomfortable."

Aurora maintained her neutral look in spite of the blatant insult. "So you don't deny his claims?"

"See here, _Sinistra_ , that Potter cannot read intents is _his_ problem. I simply chose to push him to the peak of his potential."

"Because of who his mother was?" That stopped him in his tracks. "Lillian Potter was one of the youngest to obtain a Mastery at Potions was she not?"

"Your point?" He asked, his voice suddenly raspy.

" _Harry_ Potter is **not** _Lily_ Potter, Professor, just as he is not _James_ Potter. They are not interchangeable and you have no right to act as such simply because their son is in your class."

Silence reigned for a few moments.

When he spoke, the frosty tone of his voice concealed the burning hate she could see in his eyes. "What _I_ do within _my_ class is none of your business, Sinistra."

"Even an unprovoked legilimency assault on a minor?"

The coolly delivered response took the wind right out of his sails, a fact that Aurora capitalized upon mercilessly.

"You didn't think he would tell did you? Thought you could brow-beat into submission him as you wished?

" _Think again, Severus."_

The words were like keen daggers held to his throat, _begging_ him to do something stupid.

"Did you ever stop to think of what would happen if he filed a legal complaint? Did you stop to wonder what would happen to you if _Harry Potter_ filed a legal complaint against you; Thaumarturgical Britain's Golden Boy against…" She paused, eyed him disdainfully and then scoffed. " _You._ "

Snape was seething now, absolutely incensed by her words but knowing that he could do nothing.

He had brought this on himself.

"Harry Potter is under _my_ watch, _Professor_ , and I willtake any slights against him as though they were directed at me. You would do well to remember that before you go enacting all your sick fantasies on a boy who has no memory of the man you hate."

With that parting shot, she returned to the Castle.

If she was anywhere _near_ right then Harry had to know that she had failed.

Things were likely going to get worse.


	27. Defense

_**Ripple Effect**_

 _ **Chapter 26**_

 _ **Defense**_

Amongst all his classes, Defense Against the Dark Arts (or DADA, as some of the older years called it) had been the most intriguing to Harry.

It wasn't his favorite subject(Transfiguration was currently just a few inches ahead of Charms in _that_ race), no, but something about the course itself caught his fancy.

Why did Hogwarts offer Defense Against the Dark Arts as a course but not the Dark Arts themselves? From his and Hermione's efforts in the library, they had discovered that Hogwarts _had,_ in fact, offered the Dark Arts as a course. It was something of a withheld truth; the course was an elective that only those in the know (generally meaning those of Ancient and Noble Ancestry) knew about but it _was_ there. The fact that the vast majority of the books within the Restricted Section were in some way _connected_ to the Dark Arts, if not outright _about_ them was only one of the many little anecdotal hints _Hogwarts: A History_ had left for those interested.

Harry was _very_ interested.

An even bigger source of interest was the teacher.

Professor Quirinus Quirrell was a mass of contradictions.

The man was a bag of shaken nerves on a good day, stuttering and looking over his shoulder in fear (when he wasn't tripping over himself) yet, in class, the man taught with a degree of confidence only a veterans like McGonagall and Flitwick possessed. The stutter was still there, yes, but the man's demeanour seemed vastly different. His shaking hands moved through complex wand sequences like a master opera conductor and his tripping feet moved with the surety of a soldier and the grace of a ballet dancer.

At certain times, he seemed like a man who had seen the worst the world had to offer and was still standing because he had the skill to survive.

Moments like now…

‹‹‡››

"M-many of y-you m-m-might have won-won-wondered about the b-benefits of this c-class." Quirrell stated, his trademark stutter not detracting the seriousness in his tone. "It is an un-understandable line of thought. After all, no-none of you u-understand the true horrors of m-magic." He paused here and gave a slight nod of acknowledgement to Harry before continuing. "Less than fifteen years ago, the dread Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, waged war against Britain. Not just Magical Britain, though, _all_ of Britain, magical or not. You can read up on his philosophies later however what I need you to understand is that when the War began, children much like yourselves were killed in droves. Not because they were young but because they lacked the kind of knowledge that might have kept them alive long enough for the Aurors to arrive with aid.

In light of this, the Ministry of Magic made Defense a mandatory course rather than the elective it once was for non-combat oriented professions. This version of Defense that you are being taught is vastly different from what was taught prior to the war. _This_ Defense is more than just learning protection spells and offensive charms, it is learning how to use them; learning how to face a vastly superior opponent and survive long enough for help to arrive.

"Someone run me through the list of spells we have practiced."

Hermione's hand shot up, as Harry had come to expect, but so too did Cho's, a Ravenclaw acquaintance-slash-rival of Hermione's.

"Miss Chang."

"The shield spell, _Protego_ , the light generation spell, _Lumos_ , the light cancellation spell, _Nox_ , the blindfolding spell, _Obscuro_ , the petrification spell, _Petrificus Totalus,_ and the leg-locking curse, _Locomotor Mortis._ "

At that moment, the door creaked open and Professor McGonagall glided in like a wraith, her face perfectly blank as she approached the Defence Professor.

"Lady McGonagall will play the role of a vastly superior attacker while I play the role of a victim. Limiting myself to the spells we have learned these past few weeks, I will attempt to make my way from one point of a specially created construct to another." Quirrell continued. "To ensure that neither of us has an undue advantage, the construct has been crafted by Professors Flitwick and Vector on the Quidditch pitch. Please follow me."

They did so with a hushed sort of excitement; for any of them, this would be their first time witnessing the raw destructive power of magic and even though they knew that it would be a controlled match, they were eager to see what the ever stuttering Quirrell could do when faced with an opponent.

"This is going to be brilliant!" Harry whispered as they took their seats in the stands, peering eagerly at the spacious yet intricate construct that was sprawled out beneath them. It seemed like a maze yet, upon closer perusal, it looked more like a layout for a city block with alleys, twisting roads and sprawling areas.

"Trust a boy to be excited by the promise of violence." Hermione sniffed faux haughtily.

"You rushed out of class pretty eagerly Hermione." Sally rejoined swiftly before silencing any potential comebacks with a wave. "Professor Quirrell's talking!"

And he was indeed, his voice carrying across through the use of a _sonorous._ "You will observe that there are two entrances into the construct, each at diametrically opposite ends; I will be going in through this end while Lady McGonagall will go in through the other. We proceed into it in thirty seconds, allowing us to enter at the same time and the entrances will be sealed behind us for twenty minutes after which they will be re-opened.

"As stated earlier, the objective is simple; I am to make it through the construct and come out on the other end, that is, through Lady McGonagall's entrance. Should I be unable to do so, I am to evade capture for as long as I can utilizing only the aforementioned spells." The Defence Professor turned to his colleague and bowed politely even as she reciprocated the gesture.

Then she seemed to simply blink away, prompting an explosion of whispers among the gathered students.

"What was that?!" Sally gasped in shock, unable to tear her eyes away from the spot McGonagall had just occupied.

"She sort of burst into… strings?" Harry frowned in confusion as he tried to explain what he had just witnessed. "She burst into strings and then got sucked into a point and just disappeared."

"Apparition." Hermione breathed at the same moment Susan Bones answered. Then, knowing that the redhead likely had a better explanation than she did, the bushy haired Ravenclaw gestured for her to continue.

"Professor McGonagall just apparated." Susan clarified. "I've seen my aunt do it a few times; it's basically moving one's self from one location to another without passing the distance between the two spots." She then blushed, feeling that her explanation was awfully short. "Sorry, I can't quite explain it better."

"You actually did an excellent job, Susan." Hermione smiled encouragingly. "Apparition's pretty much how you described it."

"So you're telling me I can _teleport_ with magic?" Harry asked, still a tad dubious. When both girls nodded, he turned to Sally and said with a perfectly straight face; "I am learning that."

Whatever Sally-Anne said in response was swallowed up by a terrific ' **BANG!** ' that rang out just as both participants went in.

Then there was only silence as the students watched, mesmerized by the actions of the duo within.

Quirrell was a blur of motion with the first few seconds, swiftly yet stealthily moving through the construct, exploring as much of the paths and alleys that he passed and marking some with small, almost unnoticeable circles, all the while approaching McGonagall's position without giving his own away.

On the other hand, true to the character she was portraying, the Transfiguration Professor was moving through her section with surefooted steps; nothing overly loud and telling yet not bothering to conceal her movements either.

It was inevitable that they would meet, however; the very nature of the construct demanded it.

Their first clash occurred just as McGonagall turned down a dark alley into Quirrell's half; she was briefly blinded by a flash of light that burst from the far end of the alley, stunning her for a split second.

That was all Quirrell needed to race down from the edge of the alley to one of the paths he had marked previously, diving into it just as Minerva burst out of the alley she had been blinded in.

He abandoned stealth, now, opting for speed as he raced down the twisting path that connected to even more alleys and paths, occasionally casting the _Nox_ to darken a path he had just taken or a swift _Lumos_ to brighten another.

The cat and mouse chase continued for what seemed like hours, McGonagall hunting him relentlessly until a cleverly timed magical blast lifted him and tossed him into a wall. Even then, caught off guard as he was, he maintained the clarity of mind to cast a _Protego_ that cushioned the impact and allowed him to sprint into another alley.

The spellbound students watched with bated breaths as the path he now trod took him around the site of the first clash and emptied him into a large open space with a few trees and, glaring at him with an incensed scowl, a seriously miffed McGonagall.

"He's dead." Hermione murmured as Quirrell dived behind a tree in time to avoid a sparking, spitting spell bolt. "He was barely keeping ahead of her in the alleys where he could find obstructions or blind her with those flashes; out here he's a sitting duck."

The Defense Professor didn't seem to believe that, though, as he nimbly rolled beneath another spell, this one an icy blue that -fittingly- exploded into a mass of icicles when it hit, before jabbing his wand thrice and then slashing once.

Three dark brown orbs flew out of his wand, ahead of a brilliant purple bolt, the first three flying on seemingly random paths while the purple seemed hopelessly off target.

It was only when they got close that the students saw the genius in the man's moves: the brown orbs were leg-locking curses; prankster curses, those, that, unless aimed at a specific pair of feet, would seek out the nearest pair that didn't belong to the caster. As McGonagall's were the only pair within easy reach, the spells homed in on her feet like guided missiles. At the same time, the purple bolt of the _Petrificus Totalus_ needed only to graze the target to take effect.

He had fired the petrification spell at what seemed like empty space but was, in fact, the most likely spot for McGonagall to jump to in an attempt to dodge the leg-locking curses.

Performed by a child, as Quirrell was currently portraying, it was a stroke of genius.

That didn't mean it would work, as McGonagall showed: a swift _Protego_ of her own took care of the leg-locking curses and she didn't even bother with the petrification spell as it flew harmlessly wide. Instead, she went on the offense again, this time unleashing a withering, multicolored barrage of spell fire that utterly destroyed whatever cover her opponent tried to hide behind until he was left with just one tree.

Then, out of nowhere, a crimson spell bolt flew unerringly at McGonagall before stopping mere inches before her face and fizzling out.

The students were left blinking in confused awe as Professors Vector and Flitwick, the creators of the construct, walked out into the open.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is just a _taste_ of how helpful our classes promise to be." Quirrell stated, his _Sonorous_ enhanced voice easily reaching every last one of them.

Then, the pitch was swallowed by a deafening round of applause.


	28. Tonks

_**Ripple Effect**_

 _ **Chapter 27**_

 _ **Tonks**_

Six hours later, the Hufflepuff Common Room had finally regained a modicum of peace following the awed proclamations of the starry-eyed first years who had been swearing by Quirrell since the demonstration.

Now, the Common Room had regained its more relaxed atmosphere with only a few non-Third Year or up students left. Even among the senior years, most had retreated to bed for the night.

"They do realize that it was staged, yeah?" Nymphadora Tonks grinned at a few of her fellow Sixth Years who were engaged in a game of Exploding Snap with her.

"Tonks, we didn't figure that out until we were in second year ourselves." Farouk admonished. " _Our_ seniors didn't tell us so why break the tradition?"

The raven -with pink streaks- haired girl glowered playfully at the dark skinned boy as their friends laughed. "Seriously, though; were we really _that_ starry eyed?"

"I think it get's worse every year really." Moira, a redheaded Irish lass replied cheekily. "I mean, even the Boy-Who-Lived's gone all glassy eyed!"

The Sixth Years burst into peals of laughter even as their attention returned to their game.

They would have been utterly flummoxed had they known that Harry had, sometime between the end of the Defense class and his second spoon of his dinner, figured out that the demonstration _was_ , if fact, staged.

He wasn't the only one either: Hermione and Michael Corner had figured it out mere seconds apart and their Asian housemates, Cho Chang and Padma Patil, weren't too far behind them; Harry was the second Badger to figure it out after Trevor Moon but not a single one of them had told the other, opting to give everyone the chance to figure it out on their own.

So why then was the 'Boy Who Lived' staring off into space while his best friend worked on her Potions essay?

Well, the young Potter was reviewing the demonstration yet again in the safe confines of his mind.

Staged though it was, Harry had gotten a peek into the mind of his Defense Professor simply by absorbing what he could of the wealth of little tricks that the man had put on display.

From the way he used the light spells to darken or brighten up those alleys (which, on a real chase, could fool an enemy into thinking that he had slipped into a darkened alley in a bid to hide whereas he simply ran down another) to the way he had cast his shield spell, using the defensive spell to act as a buffer that prevented him from being splattered across a wall to the way the man moved: tightly and efficiently with no wasted moves.

Quirrell was a damn sight more than the nickname 'Stutter-Face' would imply.

"You ever going to get on this essay?" Sally-Anne asked, jabbing him in the ribs to draw his attention. "I mean, Professor Snape's already got his sight set on you and we both know how bad that's turned out to be."

'And it's only going to get worse.' He added with a small scowl. Two days ago, Aurora had told him of the Potions Master's reaction to her confrontation and had suggested that he had better prepare for the man to get even worse.

"Harry?"

His focus returned to his present surroundings, reminding him that he didn't quite have the luxury of privacy at the moment. "Sorry Sally, I was just-"

"Thinking of how tedious it will be to finish up the assignment?" She asked playfully as she poked the tip of her pen into his cheek. "Or were you thinking of how annoying it will be when Professor Snape inevitably nags at the 'I's and 'T's you forgot to dot and cross?"

"Oh God don't remind me!" He moaned, though he took his roll of parchment out of his bag and snatched her pen out of her hand. "Payback for mentally scarring me!" He proclaimed as he sketched out the title of the essay. "Who knew _liverwort_ had uses in the magical community?"

"Who knew liverwort was called ' _Clevea'_?" She grunted as she passed him the textbook, already opened to the relevant page. "Even the textbook doesn't call it that!"

"Potions essay yeah?" A black and pink haired Sixth Year grinned at them. It was, of course, Nymphadora Tonks, though the two Firsties didn't know her yet; having lost the last round of the game, she had opted to stretch her legs and had found herself walking by as they spoke. "The old Ding-bat's never been known to make things easy. Hell, he actively makes life hell for any non-Snake student."

The news that their Silver-and-Green Hogwarts-mates had things easier from the Potions Master was a stunner as they had thought that he simply hated children.

 _All_ children.

"Didn't know that did you? Well- wah! OOF!" Tonks groaned from where she had landed having - _somehow_ \- managed to trip over a microscopic bump in the Common Room's ever plush, well maintained, rug.

Harry and Sally could only stare owlishly.

"Sorry about that." Tonks blushed as she made her way -without any more mishaps- to a sofa adjacent to theirs. "I'm… I'm a bit… clumsy."

"Ah, no problem…?" Harry started only to realize that they hadn't gotten her name yet.

"I'm Tonks." The Sixth Year smiled, a tad _too_ politely.

Harry didn't seem to notice that, though -or, if he did, he chose to be mum about it- but Sally was just too curious. "Just 'Tonks'? Isn't that a guy's-"

" **Just.** _ **Tonks.**_ "

Both First Years instantly zipped their mouths and nodded their acquiescence -even though Harry hadn't said a word initially.

Pissing off a girl who's hair turned blood red when she was miffed didn't seem very smart.

Tonks' grin was blinding. "Great! So, you guys seemed stunned at what I said yeah?"

Though he was wary of the poly-chromatic haired girl, Harry decided to speak up. "It's just odd, is all. I mean, isn't that blatant favoritism?"

"He gets away with it." Tonks shrugged. "And, to be fair, every other House Head _does_ display favoritism in one way or the other; after all, it helps their House's chances of winning the House Cup. Snape's just too bloody obvious with it."

The casual way she talked about the constant, none-too-subtle machinations of the Heads of House to win the House Cup caught the two First Years off guard.

Favoritism was… allowed?

Was that why Snape seemed to enjoy taking such rash decisions with impunity?

"Hey Tonks!" Farouk shouted across the Common Room. "Last round of the night; you in?"

"Hell yeah mate!" Tonks grinned as she stood up. "Anyway, you were talking about the liverwort assignment, yeah?"

"Hurry up Nymmie!"

Her cheeks grew rosy upon hearing Moira's call. "I'm coming you tart! You two: look through pages forty six to fifty nine of _A Thousand Magical Herbs_ ; it's got a more information on the uses of clevea! Later!"

Sally and Harry could only manage a small 'thank you' as they watched the horribly clumsy Sixth Year stumble over to join her mates.

"How did she stumble… _six_ times?!" Harry wondered in stunned awe.

"I don't know but I'm taking her word for it." Sally shrugged as she reached down to see if she had the Herbology text at hand. "Looks like Professor Snape's got _layers_ to his nastiness."

"Yeah… and something tells me I'm the unfortunate sap that'll experience each one."

"Look on the bright side." Sally offered with a hint of sarcasm. "If Susan, Hannah and Trevor are to be believed then we get to experience the _joys_ of flying next week."

He couldn't help the smile that pushed past his worries; every First Year they had interacted with had, at some point or the other, brought up the topic of Quidditch. Hell, he had overheard a pair of Gryffindors loudly arguing over which was better: soccer or Quidditch.

After a bit of research, himself, Hermione and Sally had gotten to understand the basics of the game which had prompted a bit of anxiety from the girls: neither was convinced about the safety of flying on broomsticks.

"Well, if nothing else, the flying lessons will be fun."


	29. On The Subject Of Flying

_**Ripple Effect**_

 _ **Chapter 28**_

 _ **On The Subject of Flying…**_

"Hey Potter!"

Harry turned to see Draco Malfoy swiftly moving toward him, the crowd of Slytherin First Years parting around the blond as he moved. In his wake were the burly shapes of Crabbe and Goyle.

Beside him, Sally stiffened. "I'll… I'll see you later."

Harry sighed as she swiftly made herself scarce. He couldn't blame her; Malfoy had built up a reputation as a nasty snob toward those he considered to be beneath his standards and, though he _had_ been civil to her in Harry's presence, the boy just couldn't seem to keep his nose from wrinkling whenever he glanced her way.

"Hello Potter." Malfoy greeted as he finally got close. "I don't see your… _friend_ here with you."

" _Sally_ needed to drop something so she decided to get going before Madame Hooch shows up." Harry replied with a thin smile. "I see you've got your goons here."

The blond didn't even comment on the slight against the two, though, to be fair, neither did said goons. "I remembered you talking about having had to lay low for a while and missing out on a few staples of the magical community."

Harry nodded, opting to not say a word in regards to the semi-lie the Sinistra Matriarch had cooked up in order to divert any questions regarding his childhood years and his conspicuous lack of knowledge regarding more commonly known magical terms and activities. "Sounds like you thought of something."

"Flying." The Malfoy heir replied. "I wasn't sure if you'd ever flown before so I wanted to give you a few tips."

"Please." It would have been foolish to _not_ accept; he had never flown, not the common human way and certainly not the widely accepted magical way. Tips were a good thing.

His acceptance brought a smile to the blond and Harry knew he had scored a few brownie points with the boy. "Well, the first thing Father taught me was to ensure that I always have a tight grip on the shaft of the broom. Father says they only stock _Shooting Stars_ for Hogwarts' flying lessons so there's not much chance of it shooting away from you when you try to tell it what it do like my _Cleansweep 3_ nearly did to me."

"Sounds almost traumatizing." Harry had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Not a day had gone by that Malfoy didn't try to project himself as being better than everyone else and even now, knowing that Harry likely had no clue what the difference between a _Cleensweep_ and a _Shooting Star_ was, he still did the same.

"It should have been, I assure you, but Mother made sure to prevent-"

"Are you all set?" A sharp voice cut through the throng of voices, drawing all eyes to the speaker and -thankfully- shutting Malfoy up. "Well, let's get out onto the pitch then!"

Harry turned to Draco and, plastering on a sufficiently apologetic look, said; "I guess you've gotta go back huh?"

The blond nodded and turned to leave. "I'll see you on the pitch then, Potter."

Not even thirty seconds after his departure, Sally was once again at Harry's side. "Time to touch the sky."

"With my luck?" Harry scoffed quietly. "I won't get higher than an inch."

"Oh please; you'll probably be the best in our year."

‹‹‡››

"Now you've undoubtedly learned of the core tenets of magic during your orientation classes so I'll skip right on to the really important stuff here." Madam Hooch stated, her piercing yellow eyes seemingly studying each student individually. "Flying is strongly connected to your Intent. It doesn't matter how large your energy reserves are or how much power you can bring to bear in an instant; any one with sufficient magic to be considered a fully fledged Witch or Wizard has the potential to fly. How well they can, however, is up to them."

The gray haired woman stretched her hand out in front of her and the broom on the ground shot up into her hand. "Every broom, from the oldest Toy Broom to the latest _Nimbus 2000_ is designed to respond to the will of the rider. I won't go into the mechanics; what you need to understand is that your broom does what **you** tell it to do. You picture a barrel roll and it will twist as is required. You ask it to dovetail then you'd best have one hell of a grip on it.

"Therein, however, lies the risk." She let go of the broom in her hand and it hovered stably for a few seconds before suddenly growing shaky and then falling to the ground. "To fly without risk of tossing yourself into a ditch is to have a clear mental picture of what you wish your broomstick to do. For those of you who actively think, you'll begin to see a correlation between this and some of your other studies."

Harry was one of the first to figure it out: courses like Transfiguration and Charms required a great deal of Intent; learning to clearly visualize what he wanted to happen would be a boon to those two.

"Now, today's lesson was to be Slytherins and Gryffindors first but certain things came up so the Lions will share a class with the Ravens later. For those of you here now, today's lesson is simple: we'll simply start off with getting our brooms to hover and, if that goes well, we'll advance to the basics of mounting." She peered at the students lined up before her. "You saw how I stretched my arm forward? You'll do the same and then focus on your broom rising up to your hand. You will **not** bend over and pick your broom when you think I'm not looking; try that and you'll be washing cauldrons with Snape during dinner for a week."

The threat was more than enough to clear _that_ thought from any crafty minds.

"Now, stretch your arm forward, visualize the broom rising and, when you have that image locked into your mind, simply say 'up!' Are you ready?"

Many stared back with hesitation clear in their eyes but she didn't seem to care.

"Alright, let's get this on!"

Harry stretched his arm forward, ignored the many cries of 'up!' around him and imagined the broom in his hand. "Up."

His voice was quiet, a stark contrast to the yells around but the result was clear: the broom jumped off the ground and met his palm with a meaty slap.

To his side, Trevor Moon whistled sharply. "You sure you've never done this before mate?"

"Pretty sure I'd remember if I'd ever flown Trev." Harry muttered back, though not unkindly. He was still a bit stunned at how swiftly the broom had responded to his commands.

"Well then, I'm glad I'm in Hufflepuff." The dark skinned boy grinned as his broom slowly and shakily levitated up to his hand. By the time his hand clasped around its shaft, the boy had a thin sheen of sweat glistening off his forehead. "I've gotta up my game though; I'm pretty sure you'll be good at Quidditch with that little show and I can't wait to play beside you."

Harry, wary of all the excessive attempts to befriend him that he had been forced to wade through in his first few weeks, was a tad skeptical of the proclamation. "What, because I got this to jump quicker than you did?"

"Well… yeah." Trevor shrugged helplessly as he tried to find a way to explain himself.

Further down the line, Madame Hooch turned her attention away from the two boys as Trevor explained how most of the best Quidditch players were said to have gotten the same response from their brooms on their first try.

'Just like his father eh?' She thought as she walked up to a dark skinned Slytherin girl who seemed to be struggling with getting her broom of the ground. She couldn't help but wonder how good the Boy-Who-Lived would be; perhaps he'd be a key player in getting the Quidditch cup back into Hufflepuff? Merlin knew it was high time the Badgers got a win and, with the gradual increase in the crop of players they now had, they could have a winning team in the near future.

No, she decided, It wasn't a bad start at all…

 _ **I've often wondered why the Hogwarts staff seemed so impatient with the students. I mean, yeah, kids are bad enough without being given magical abilities but still!**_

' **Well, what are you all waiting for? Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up.'**

 _ **Really?**_

 _ **That's all they get on an intro to flying on a rickety twig that could get them dropped off mid air in no time flat?**_

 _ **Well, that's stupid.**_

 _ **It's like even the teachers expect you to have 'some' background in magical knowledge even if you're a -excuse me- muggleborn.**_

 _ **Ugh.**_

 _ **Well, the brusque nature of things at Hogwarts annoys me so I've taken the liberty of altering it to fit what a sane school with decent teachers would seem like.**_

 _ **Now… To figure out why Harry would be up wandering around the Forbidden Corridor…**_


	30. Chapter 29

_**Ripple Effect**_

 _ **Chapter 29**_

 _ **In The Library…**_

"Hey Hermione! Got a minute?"

Said bushy haired brunette looked away from the tome she was reading through, a tiny scowl on her face at the slight disturbance. The scowl disappeared the instant she spotted a familiar Asian face rapidly closing the gap toward her. "Hey Cho!"

Her fellow Raven slid into the seat beside her and hefted a bulging knapsack onto the table. "Hey Hermione!" Cho smiled as she nudged her friend with her shoulder. "I just _knew_ you'd be in here."

Hermione rolled her eyes playfully. "Cho, _everyone_ in our House knows where to find me! I'm surprised I haven't been saddled with a stupid nickname yet!"

"Oh~ I have a few suggestions if you'd like~" Cho grinned teasingly. Then, she goggled when she spotted her friend's reading material. "What are you doing with _Foundations of Alchemy?!_ "

"You know it?"

The Asian witch couldn't hold in her scoff. "Know it? Hermione I tried reading it! That thing's bloody complex! I mean, I grasped a few of the most rudimentary concepts but everything after that just-" She moved her hand over her head in a gesture Hermione easily understood.

"I just picked it up today; there were references to Alchemy in a number of our textbooks so I decided to look it up." The brunette looked a tad uncomfortable as she reached out to close the tome. "Honestly, it's not as complex as I'd thought; much like brewing Potions, it seems to have similarities to what regular humans call chemistry."

"You mean the branch of natural science that deals with the composition and constitution of substances and the changes they undergo as a result of alterations to their molecular make-up?" Cho grinned at the slightly surprised look on Hermione's face. "Third generation witch remember? Us Changs haven't got enough 'magical blood' in us to make us abandon the non-wizarding world."

I um… I forgot honestly; the sheer level of obsolescence that magical Britain seems to run off means I have to explain most common nonmagical concepts to most people."

"Apology accepted." Cho replied. "Trust me, I know what you mean; I had to explain to Marietta how nonmagical methods of long distance communications trump 'Floo Calls'. Now _that_ was a challenge."

Both girls had a good, quiet laugh at that before Cho got to business.

"Right; so I was going through some of the material for Professor Vector's next class on the Fundamental Magical Principles* when I noticed something odd." Cho opened her knapsack and pulled out Adalbert Waffling's _Magical Theory_. "I noted a formula that's useful for calculating the rate at which magical decay occurs in transfigured objects and, frankly, I don't get it."

Hermione leaned in eagerly, swiftly recalling the formula Cho had referred to as well as her personal thoughts on it. "Really? I thought it was pretty straightforward."

The Asian girl snorted. "Yeah, on the _surface_. However the formula has a missing variable: intent.

"According to Professor McGonagall, Transfiguration involves enforcing one's intent on an object and using one's magic reserves to empower the actual change." Cho rehashed. "So, without sufficient intent, the transfiguration process may not happen."

"Or it produces weak results." Hermione finished. "It's also the main reason no one bothers transfiguring their opponent's transfigurations during duels; it devolves into a battle of wills that just serves as a distraction."

"Exactly!" Cho nodded excitedly. "Well, if intent is pretty much the lynchpin of Transfiguration then why doesn't the formula take it into account?!"

That question led them down a path of arguments and counterclaims that lasted well beyond their none-too gentle eviction from the Library…

Had Hermione not had her nose stuck between the pages of an ancient tome (as was normal for her) she would have noted the subdued buzz of energy that rippled through the Hall as she walked in for breakfast. And, if she possessed a greater degree of social acuity, she would have guessed -correctly, as it were that said energy was common among students when there was a trending gossip topic.

But Hermione Granger was Hermione Granger and so she did not notice anything, not even when she shuffled into a spot beside a clearly-eager-to-spill Cho.

Five minutes later (after watching her annoyingly studious classmate adjust her borrowed copy of _Alchemic History_ as she ordered a light breakfast of eggs on toast and a glass of milk) Cho reached over and slammed Hermione's book shut.

Naturally, that drew the bushy brunette's attention/ire.

"What is wro- mmphhh!"

"Now she listens." The Asian Raven glared at the now muffled brunette. "What the hell was in that book that had you so-OW!" She yanked her hand back, shaking it vigorously as she intensified her glare. "What the blazes was that for?!"

"Between muzzling me and interrupting my reading? Take a random guess!" Hermione's tone was almost acidic in response and both girls maintained their furious facade until Terry Boot's grinning face appeared between their glare-off, hands slung across their shoulders. "So, who's up for a spot of breaking and entering later tonight?"

 _* Looking through the HP book, I noticed a textbook titled Magical Theory. As they don't offer Arithmancy or Runes in year 1, I created the Fundamental Magical Principles class to serve as a sort of prelude to both. The class (taught by Septima Vector) will pretty much be basic arithmetic and simpler runeology and will allow Hogwarts students to come out with at least_ _ **basic knowledge**_ _on the subjects._

 _So, I know this is really late and doesn't seem to connect to anything but I can assure you that it plays a role._

 _Later._


	31. Chapter 30

_**Ripple Effect**_

 _ **Chapter 32**_

"Oh God we are so going to get expelled!" Hermione moaned, her eyes peeking out at her 'compadres' from between her hands. "We are most definitely going to get expelled."

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the quintessential Ravenclaw: Hermione Granger." Cho rolled her eyes as they made it up to the third floor. "While the rest of us wonder why an entire floor was declared off limits to students and risk death at the hands of a potentially deadly creature, this rare specimen of Raven is more concerned about getting kicked out of the Institution known as Hogwarts."

"A truly remarkable specimen indeed." Terry grinned back as he whipped out his wand to cast a quick spell at the door. In response, the door glowed green bar a small red spot over the handle. " _Revelare et seras_. Part of a suite of spells my big bro taught me over the last year."

"You… Terry, that was _silent_ casting!" Hermione whispered in awe. "How did you-?"

"It's a pretty low-level spell so it wasn't too difficult to learn to cast it without a word." The boy replied a tad bashfully. "Garry ensured that I had it down pat before my letter came in."

"Terry." Cho cut in impatiently. "I'd love to hear more about how to cast spells silently but I would also like to get out of here before Filch catches us and tries to make fillets out of my eyeballs."

Hermione recoiled at the mental imagery. "Now that's just disgusting."

"His words." The Asian witch replied with a shrug as the door clicked open. "Now, to see if Monsieur Weasely wasn't just blowing hot air..."

"A _Cerberus?!_ " Harry whispered in shock, eyes wide in equal parts fear, shock and awe. "That's what's on the Third Floor? A bloody _Cerberus_?"

"Well I'll be damned." Sally murmured as she absentmindedly jabbed her wand at the piece of cloth she was to practice on. "Ronald's girly screams weren't just for show."

"Quiet!" Hermione hissed just before Professor McGonagall walked past, observing the work of the table beside theirs. In the ensuing silence, the three concentrated on their assignment for the day though it was obvious that neither Harry nor Sally seemed particularly bothered by the task and, the instant the Transfiguration Professor was back at her seat, the whispered conversation continued.

"Yes, Harry. A Cerberus." Hermione frowned as she dropped her wand and slapped her hands to her face to alleviate the shaking. "I swear, I gained a few gray hairs when the door swung open and we were faced with it's musky breath."

Sally gaped. "It was right in front of you?!" She reached out to hold on to her friend's arm. "How the blazes did you get out?"

"We got lucky." Hermione admitted. "Two of the three Cerberus heads were asleep when we poked our heads in and you can be damned sure we didn't push our luck. And even _then_ we just barely made it out." She shuddered as the unwanted memory of wild barking, bloodshot eyes and flying claws bubbled to the surface of her mind. "At least now I know why I wasn't sorted into Gryffindor; not enough courage to slay the beast."

Harry's curiosity was in no way close to being sated but he was not oblivious to the watery smile on his brunette friend's face as she delivered that joke nor was he blind to the way her hands shook.

His curiosity could wait.

I'm alive!

This was rushed but just consider it my New Year's Gift to Y'all.

The chapter will be polished later.

Happy new year everyone.


End file.
